Our Bloodstained Bonds
by x Artemisia x
Summary: Forgotten friends, a buried past. This is the life of Luna Cross. Waking up as an amnesiac eight years ago, she doesn't know what happened, nor what her former life held. That is, until she ran into an old friend she doesn't remember... Then things begin to change... Eventual oc x Xanxus, may have a bit of oc x Squalo M for language and violence I suppose...?
1. Crossed Paths

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N: Welp, this is my first fanfiction... Reviews are appreciated, and for later chapters, or this one even, I'd appreciate if you could give me feedback on whether or not I'm keeping the characters true to who they are. If I'm not, I'm open to ways to fix it. Thanks!

Oh and this takes place 8 years after the Cradle incident, so Xanxus has more or less just woken up (thawed out LOL /brick'd).

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**Chapter one: Crossed Paths**

A pair of blood red hues.

A gruff voice never coherent, yet so familiar.

Then darkness, a never ending abyss.

"…na… Luna… Luna!" Sky blue hues flew open and the girl in question shot up and glanced around blearily, the remnants of sleep clinging to her mind. "What is it mom?" She asked as she stifled a yawn.

"You'll be late if you sleep any longer," The woman scolded with a small smile.

Glancing over at the clock, the silvery white haired female blinked in surprise before nodding and slipping out of bed and moving around the room with a fluid like grace as she stripped and pulled on her clothes for the day. As she did, her mother left the room, allowing Luna to prepare.

Once alone, the silvery white haired female's thoughts drifted back to her dream. Today hadn't been the first time she had had it. Rather, it was reoccurring since her incident from eight years ago… On May third eight years prior, the woman who was taking care of her now found her unconscious, bleeding, and floating in a river. She had taken the girl to her house where she had tended her wounds and nursed her back to health, no strings attached. Upon waking up, Luna couldn't remember a thing except her name, Luna Cross… Over the years, Luna had come to love the woman and considered her to be her mother, despite being unrelated by blood. With that single memory, the blue eyed girl built a new life for herself, doing her best to move on from a past that wouldn't unveil itself to her. But now, it seemed she had another lead on her former life, those ruby red eyes that both haunted and comforted her. The memory sent a shiver down her spine. Shaking her head, Luna sighed softly and tentatively swept a few strands of stray hair from her face before absently going to the washroom to fully wake herself up and brush her teeth.

Finishing, the amnesic descended the stairs, following the delicious aroma of freshly cooked eggs and bacon. Though they were in Italy, the woman had originally come from the States, hence the choice of breakfast food. Smiling, she leaned over and kissed the woman on the cheek, "Grazie Mamma." The older woman smiled and waved the spatula at her, "Yes yes, now sit down and be sure to eat a lot, I don't want my cooking to go to waste!"

Laughing, Luna smiled and nodded as she slid into her seat, her stomach growling expectantly. When the plate of food was placed in front of her, the woman had barely let go of the dish before Luna had eaten half of its contents. "Mmmm…" She sighed contentedly with a mouth full of eggs. This earned her a smack on the head as the woman berated her yet again, "What have I said about stuffing your face? Not to mention talking with your mouth full!" Swallowing, Luna gave the woman a bright smile, "Sorry~" But they both knew she wasn't, and neither minded. Swallowing down the last bit of food, Luna placed the dishes into the sink before giving her mother another peck on the cheek as she moved to the front door, "I'll see you at five mamma." She called over her shoulder.

Even though she had woken up late, she really wasn't late at all considering her university wasn't all that far away. It was just that she tended to get distracted by everything in the marketplace when she walked, hence the need for extra time. When she had taken the entrance test, Luna was more than surprised to find she knew most of the material, more so that she could read Italian. I guess my former self was pretty smart, she thought with a rueful smile._ I wonder what happened_. It was a question she asked herself almost daily. Why did she forget? What had caused it?

So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize there was a crowd a little ways in front of her and ended up bumping into the back of one of the bystander. "Ah…!" Jolted from her reverie, she backed up and was about to apologize, only to realize the man didn't even notice her. Blinking curiously, Luna slowly became aware of the jeering, cheering, and overall rowdiness of the crowd before her. That could only mean one thing… Street brawl. Furrowing her brows in displeasure at this thought, she began to turn away when several men were pushed back and sent tumbling to the ground, a bloody, but still alive (?) man landing on top of them. "VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! Weaklings!" Jumping at the loudness of the voice, Luna turned in alarm, slightly apprehensive as to what the aggressor looked like, her mind concocting up images of a buff, scary man. Instead, she found herself gazing at a silver haired male with a sword attached to his left arm and a smug smirk stretched across his face. Taking a step backwards, she wondered if she could find a different way around them and clutched her bag tighter, not wanting to be involved. A foreign emotion bubbled up inside of her, what was it called again? Oh yeah, fear. Not fear of the silver haired man, however strange that was, but it was fear of what the man was linked to. What that was, she had no idea, but it made the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Unbeknownst to her, the fear she felt was beginning to trigger a defense system, and a cool feeling spread throughout her skin, making her fingertips tingle.

The sudden drop in temperature had many looking around in confusion, but only one was able to pinpoint its source almost instantly. With a shocked expression, the silver haired male's eyes bore into her, his eyes betraying his emotions for a brief second as a single word slipped from his lips, barely a whisper, uncharacteristic by those who knew him. "Luna…" Yet, it did not go unheard by the girl in question.

Blue hues clashed against grey ones and Luna's mind raced furiously, trying to formulate a reason as to why this man knew her._ Run…_ A voice whispered in the back of her mind. Without even thinking, Luna turned and bolted, a sharp pain shooting through her temple as she realized she knew this man. Somehow, and somewhere, they had known each other…

"LUNA! VOIIIIIIIII! HOW DARE YOU RUN WOMAN!" Ignoring his yelling, the wide eyed girl ran faster than she thought possible, losing herself in the crowd mere moments later.

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"Fuck!" Taking off after her, he was quickly stopped by the hoards of people, everyone trying to get out of his way, only to end up obstructing his path more. Pushing them, he glanced up in time to see that head of wispy white hair disappear from sight, enraging him more. Swearing yet again under his breath, the silver haired male returned to where he was before. Kicking the man he had just beaten, Superbi Squalo growled something derogatory to the fallen man before turning and stomping out of the square. Once he was alone in an alleyway, the Varia Captain fished out his phone and punched in the only number he had taken the pain to remember. Waiting impatiently for the other party to pick up, he paced around, completely restless. Hearing a click on the other end, he shouted, "Hey shitty boss! What the fuck took you so long to answer?!"

"Don't fucking waste my time trash." The voice on the other end growled.

Squalo knew his boss was going to hang up if he didn't speak quickly, so he blurted the one word he knew would get the man's attention. "Luna!"

For a moment, the line went silent and Squalo thought Xanxus had hung up, only to be proven wrong when the sound of shattering glass was heard on the other end. "Why the fuck are you bringing her up shitty shark." His voice was deadly quiet now, and the Captain knew he had better explain before his boss decided to paint headquarters with his blood. "I saw her…"

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Reviews are appreciated~

If it's bad, tell me! I probably won't continue it then, but I still want to know.


	2. Forgotten

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

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**Chapter two: Forgotten**

_Oh what the hell! Why am I running?!_ Rounding a corner into a less populated street, Luna slowed to a walk before stopping completely to catch her breath. _This is ridiculous_, she sighed while shaking her head. Honestly, she had no reason to run from the man, in fact, it would have made more sense to stay and find out what he knew about her. She could have finally filled in that gap in her memories, taken down that wall blocking her path, but no, she had to run. Why? Because of that little voice at the back of her mind, insisting that she stay away from the silver haired man. _Well… There's nothing I can do about it now…_ She thought begrudgingly. She wasn't about to return back there either. Letting out another sigh, Luna shook her head, and instead of going to the university, her feet brought her home. "Oh…" Staring at the door before her, she stepped forward, "Well… Might as well go in then…" She mumbled to herself.

Unlocking the door, Luna tentatively stepped inside, prepared for her mother's reaction. Upon reaching the living room where the woman was working on a painting, the silver-white haired female cleared her throat as she awkwardly stood there, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. The woman turned, surprised for a moment before her expression changed into a disapproving scowl and she brandished her brush threateningly. "Luna! Why are you home already? Don't you dare tell me you're skipping!" Shaking her head, she replied, "No… Actually um… I met someone who seemed to know my former self… But I stupidly ran away," The last bit was muttered under her breath, but the middle aged woman caught it nonetheless. "Oh…" Her demeanor changed in the blink of an eye and she carefully set the brush down before taking a seat and motioning for Luna to do the same. Once the latter had, the older female folded her hands in her lap, "Did this person seem happy or angry to see you? What did they say?"

Laughing sheepishly, Luna shrugged, "Neither… He looked shocked actually. But then he got mad when I ran from him." Her mother merely raised an eyebrow at that. "Why did you run then?"

"Because…" Luna hesitated for a moment, before continuing slowly, "Because I think I was afraid. Not of him, which is weird… But of something associated with him…"

"Then your subconscious must be warning you. The best thing would be to steer clear of him, yes?" Her mother said with a small smile.

"Yeah…" Something in her mother's voice was unsettling, but Luna dismissed it almost immediately.

With a satisfied nod, the woman rose, "Well then, do you still feel like going to school? I'll even drive you."

After a moment's hesitation, the blue eyed girl nodded.

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The tequila glass in his hand shattered from the force of his grip as he bit out harshly, "Why the fuck are you bringing her up shitty shark."

"I saw her." That simple answer he heard from the phone made a pair of blood red hues narrow by a fraction of an inch.

_She's alive. _That single thought dominated Xanxus' mind for a moment, and with it, buried emotions burst forth. Anger, relief, annoyance, bewilderment, and the desire to know why. Why did she do what she did? A part of him knew, but he wanted to hear the words leave her lips, to see the truth in her eyes, to feel the lingering betrayal melt away. Because if he was wrong, if she truly had deceived him, then no one, _no one_, would be able to keep her safe from his wrath. He would utterly destroy her, and if that time came, he would never let anyone toy with him like that again. "Where is she." It wasn't a question.

Squalo knew right away that it was a command to bring her to Varia Headquarters, that his boss was demanding he bring her now, lest he wish to have a hole burned into his chest the moment he return. "Gone… She fucking ran!"

"And you're telling me you couldn't catch her you piece of shit?"

_Shit shit shit._ "VOIII! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN HOW FAST SHE RUNS?"

"…You have one day scum." With that, Xanxus hung up, leaving Squalo swearing at the dial tone. "Fucking boss…" Muttering a long string of profanities under his breath, the Varia Captain returned to the square before grabbing people who had been around earlier, "Where did that white haired girl run off to?" One hand was fisted in the man's shirt collar, and the other hand was pressing his blade to the man's throat.

"T-t-that way!" He squeaked as he pointed a shaky and clammy hand down the street.

"Feh." Shoving the guy away from him, Squalo stomped off in that direction, pissed that he had waste his time playing cat and mouse. Eventually, his interrogation tactics led him to a modest and ordinary house, very similar to those on either sides of it. Just as he had arrived, the door open, and immediately, he stepped into the shadow of the building across the street, concealing his presence completely. What he saw made him hiss angrily. _Why the fuck is Luna with a Moretti?_ His mind raced as he pieced things together. Had she really betrayed them all by siding with the enemy? _Bitch. You fucking, deceiving bitch. No wonder she ran. No… That's not right._ The Luna he knew was more than capable of holding her own against him, they were evenly matched the last time they sparred. Squalo's eyes narrowed as he watched the two females get into a car, the Moretti chatting happily as she started the car up and Luna smiling with an unguarded expression on her face. Though it was sickening to say the least, he wasn't stupid enough to just jump in and attack. If there was one Moretti here, chances were that there were others. Slipping away unnoticed, Squalo tailed the car, doing his best to take more inconspicuous paths as he did so.

Arriving at the university in five minutes, Luna got out, waved to her mother and began to make her way inside. _Ah…I've completely missed all of my physics class…And I still have an hour before my math class starts…_Groaning to herself, the silver-white haired female decided it couldn't hurt to find a shady spot on campus and catch up on her reading. Changing her destination, Luna leisurely strolled over to a large deciduous tree and dropped her bag on the ground. Before she had a chance to sit down, a hand reached around her and clamped over her mouth, forcing her to turn. Pushed against the tree trunk, a partially extended sword was pressed to her throat before the man looming over her hissed. "Once I take my hand off your mouth, you _will_ answer my questions. I don't give a shit about making a scene, if you so much as try to scream for help, I'm going to take great pleasure in slitting your throat." His hair acted as a partial curtain around them. To the average bystander, it was a typical lover scene, and most would avert their eyes and continue hastily on their way.

Blinking up at the man, Luna recognized him to be the same one she had run from. Had he followed her? How had he found her in the first place? She was sure to have lost him in the crowd… _Ah… He's serious… So why aren't I afraid?_ It wouldn't be correct to say she felt safe either, nor did she doubt his claim that he would kill her should she call out, but a part of her felt perfectly calm despite the knife pressed into the base of her throat and the murderous aura radiating from every fiber of his being.

Gazing into his former teammate's eyes, he growled. _How can they be so clear?_ There was no fear, no suspicion, it was just like how they had used to be, and it pissed him off. After all these years, after everything that had happened, how could she remain so unchanged? Slowly, he dropped his hand and took a deep breath. "Why the fuck are you with the Moretti, Luna? You're the one who sprouted all that shit about sticking together, that you would always have our backs. You must have been laughing so hard to see us believe you huh? Was it fun to play us that badly?" His words were sharp and bitter. He was prepared for anything she said. If she tried to lie, or deny it, he would just kill her here and save Xanxus the trouble. If she outright admitted to deceiving them, he'd make her death much more painful… Well… after they finished torturing her for information. But, as always, she managed to catch him by utter surprise, causing his perfect composure to slip ever so slightly, and his eyes to widen in disbelief at the truth reflected in her eyes as she spoke.

"Who are you?"

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Reviews are greatly appreciated~


	3. Return

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

BlueMoon12345678: Thank you~ I'll do my best 83

OoBlueIceRinkoO: Thank you as well ouo b I shall try ^^ b

Ahaha…. I'm so lame, the only thing I can say, is 'thank you.' /cries

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**Chapter Three:** **Return**

Luna peered up curiously at the furious male towering above her. He sounded genuinely pissed off. By aside from that, he sounded… hurt? It was hard to tell when he was hiding it so well, so the whitenette studied his eyes. After all, a person's eyes were supposed to be the windows into their soul right? It seemed he caught on quickly too, for after his brief slip up, his eyes were once again hard and cold, betraying nothing of his inner workings. _Oh… he's still waiting for an answer…_ But… How was she to answer something she had no recollection of? Lying wasn't an option, so she opted for the pure and simple truth; she didn't know him at all, thus answering his question and at the same time, she would ask one of her own. "Who are you?"

Needless to say, his reaction was priceless. Disbelief was written clearly on his face as he scrutinized her, trying to discern if she was lying or not. When he realized she wasn't, he seemed to be at a momentary loss for words. His arm relaxed a bit as his mind raced to formulate some sort of plausible reason as to what had happened. _Right after the Cradle incident, Luna vanished. Even with our resources we couldn't trace her whereabouts. Did she go and hit her head on something?_ At this, a tick mark appeared on his forehead and he scowled. "VOIII, STUPID WOMAN. WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?!" Angrily, the silver haired captain forcefully pressed his partially extended sword against her neck, drawing beads of blood as he did. Unflinchingly, Luna didn't like where this was going and stared back at him, her sky blue hues unwavering, "Don't blame me. It's not like I asked for this."

Squalo twitched at that, and after swearing excessively under his breath, he decided to bring her back in one piece so Xanxus could decide what to do with her. As things were now, no one was going to get any answers. "Hey… I think your yelling has attracted some unwanted attention…" Luna commented mildly, her hues trained on the security personnel readily approaching them. I didn't know our school had security, she thought curiously. Grey hues flitted to where the girl had been looking, and sure enough, five uniformed men were walking towards him, only, they weren't security at all. The way they held themselves, the look in their eyes, and the bit of tattoo peeking out from the cuffs of their jackets; they were Moretti's thugs. "Tch. Fucking vermin." Luna rose a brow at that, "Well… You're the one who came in here with the intent to cut me up… Of course they're going to come after you, especially with the wonderful display you put on, demonstrating how loud your voice can be." "Shut up woman, you don't know shit. First off, they're not security if that's what you're thinking, and secondly, seeing you with me will make them think you're a threat too." Just as he had finished, the first man called out in an authoritative voice. "Sir! We must ask you to remove yourself from that woman, put your weapon down, and come towards us slowly with your hands in the air." The other four men had their guns pointed at Squalo as they waited for him to comply.

Ignoring them momentarily, Squalo hissed, "The moment I turn around, get the fuck behind that tree. If you so much as try to run, not only will they come after you, but so will I. I will fucking disembowel you if you think you can hide from me. Clear?" Luna merely nodded, and casted a last glance at the men behind Squalo before wondering out loud, "But can you really beat them with a sword when they have guns?" At this Squalo grinned, his eyes glinting, "Who do you think I am? If you're not too much of a pansy, then get behind that tree and just watch me. Otherwise, cover your ears and close your eyes if you're a spineless coward." Lowering the sword from her throat, Squalo couldn't help but feel slightly reminiscent. The only difference was at the moment, Luna was completely useless, not to mention she was a pending enemy. Casting a final glance at the blue eyed girl, he watched as she gave an imperceptible nod before slipping around the tree. At the same time, Squalo turned and charged, his sword extending to its full length. Caught by surprise, the men tried to readjust their aim as quickly as possible, only to end up firing at his approximate location due to their slow reaction.

"VOIIII WHAT'S WITH THIS WEAK REACTION?!" Grinning like a mad man, the Varia captain thrust the tip of his blade into the man who had spoken earlier, gutting him before grabbing the collar of his uniform and using him as a meat shield against the rain of bullets. Laughing at their sheer incompetence, he threw the corpse at the next man and jabbed his sword into the man's thigh, twisting it to elicit a delight holler of pain. Twisting his body, Squalo ripped the sword from his leg, partially detaching it as he did. Falling to one knee, the man raised his gun and unsteadily tried to shoot his attacker, pain and adrenaline causing his hands to shake. Unfortunately for him, that was his downfall. Even with a clear shot of the silver haired man, he missed, giving said man the perfect opportunity to decapitate him with a sweep of his arm. "That's two." Turning on the remaining three with a predatory gaze, Squalo was now dyed with blood, and loving every moment of it. The smell of iron, the feeling of adrenaline pumping through his veins, of his blood boiling with excitement, but in this case, he was more disappointed than excited. These men were weak; they were disorganized and unprofessional. He hated weaklings. "Fucking shitheads. You bit off more than you could chew." Sneering at them, Squalo couldn't help but flip them the finger in a condescending manner. At least that got them riled up. But it didn't improve their aim one bit. In fact, most missed him without any movement on his part. If he wasn't so let down, the Varia Captain would have been beside himself with laughter at their incompetence.

From behind the tree, Luna watched with an almost horrified awe. His movements, no matter how inefficient looking, were really quite graceful and left no openings. Just watching him got her blood going, and a shiver tingled down her spine at the thought of joining him. _Wait, hold up. Join him? I can't fight… But I must be able to since he spoke like he knew me well... _Frowning, Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts and returned her attention to the fight before her. Blue hues looked up just in time to see a man sliced clean in too, covering the silver haired man in even more blood, so much so that his hair didn't even look silver anymore. The last man took the chance to run, knowing he was outnumbered. _Wait… last man? Shouldn't there have been one more?_ Her question was answered a second later when an arm snaked around her throat and roughly pulled her against the man's chest and his gun pressing into her left temple. Forcing her forward and out from behind the tree, he shot at Squalo to get his attention before aiming it back at Luna. In the meanwhile, said male was too busy stabbing the poor man to death, purposely missing his vitals to prolong his suffering to notice the last man until he heard the gunshot. "Eh?" Turning, his eye twitched irately at the scene before him.

"VOIIII USELESS BITCH, HOW COULD YOU GET CAUGHT SO EASILY?" He shouted at her. Lifting her shoulders, she let them drop nonchalantly, "Why did you let one of them slip away unnoticed?"

"Feh, not my problem. I would have hunted him down later."

"Oh really?" Luna looked at him skeptically and was about to say something else when she felt the gun being pressed harder into her temple.

"S-shut up! Both of you!" Just by feeling how irregular his breathing was, Luna knew he was panicking. Then again, who wouldn't after seeing what Squalo had done to his comrades. "Either you let me go, or I'll shoot her!" At that, Luna couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh, "What's with all the death threats today…?" She muttered unhappily. _Was the former me that disliked?_ Her little self reflection was interrupted by Squalo's laughter, "Are you fucking serious? As if I give a rat's ass about what happens to her, if it comes to it, I can just cut through her to get to you." His eyes didn't look like they were lying at all, and Luna nodded, "He's telling the truth you know…" She said drily. This man had tried to take control of the situation, but by the looks of it, that control was never there. "And another thing, I really hate being manhandled, you know that?" Turning her head so she could semi look at him, Luna smiled angelically a split second before ramming her elbow into his diaphragm, her intent to permanently injure it. The action caught him off guard and air rushed out from his lungs, causing his hold to loosen just enough for her to slip out, grab the hand holding the gun and twist it until it gave away with a satisfying crack. The man screamed and dropped the weapon in which Luna quickly retrieved and pointed it at him, her body remembering the feel of what it was like to hold a gun. Before she had time to register what she was doing, the white haired girl had already shot him through the heart, her actions only dawning on her as he crumpled to the ground, a dark pool of liquid expanding outwards from his body.

Luna's eyes widened in shock and her mouth formed a perfect 'o' as she dropped the gun, "Oh…" Looking up at Squalo in disbelief, she couldn't believe that he was smirking. "Looks like your body remembers how to kill, even if you don't," He chuckled in satisfaction. He had seen it all, the efficiency and absolute lack of hesitation. Even if she hadn't understood what she had been doing, her eyes had remained unclouded after the realization hit her that she had just shot a man practically point blank. "Gape later, we're going." Tugging her by the arm, Squalo turned to go, only to feel resistance. Turning, he glared at her, and Luna merely stood there, stubbornly. "I'm not leaving… I can't just abandon my mother here."

Rolling his eyes, Squalo could hear the sirens in the distance and snarled, "For fucks sake, she's not even your real mother! Your real mother is dead, and you know these dead shitheads? Well they're from the same Mafioso as your 'mother.' Just some food for thought." With that, he turned away and dragged her along. After a while she reluctantly followed, unsure if he was telling the truth or not, but knowing he wasn't going to let her stay here anyways… As they walked, Luna glanced down and noticed he was still holding onto her. "You can let go you know, I'm not going to run…" Squalo stopped in his tracks and looked to where Luna was referring to before making an irritated noise, "Like I'm going to believe that." Just like that, the discussion was over and he returned to dragging her off. Once they reached the road, there was already a sleek black limo waiting for them. Raising a brow skeptically, she opened her mouth to ask him how the hell could afford to be chauffeured around by a limousine only to be shoved inside the moment he got the door open.

"OOMPH!" Groaning, Luna barely had any time to recover when Squalo got in and pushed her over to the side. "Slow." He mocked as he pulled the door closed behind him. Almost immediately afterwards, the driver set off, leaving a slightly disoriented Luna and a smug, blood stained Squalo sitting silently in the back.

To say the ride back was quiet would be an understatement. The blue eyed girl thought she could hear her own organs functioning, which was ridiculous, but that's how she felt. Along the way, she would sneak an occasional sideways glance over at the man, hoping it might help to trigger some sort of memory, but no luck. Halfway there, Luna felt her cell vibrate and fished it from her pocket. "Ah…" Seeing that it was a text from her mother, she hesitated, Squalo's words from earlier ringing through her mind. _What should I say?_ Luckily (or unluckily) for her, Squalo had been watching, and the moment he saw who it was from, he snatched the phone away from her before crushing it in his hand and tossing the pieces out the window. Blinking, she stared at him for a moment, but when he made no move to explain what that was about, she merely sighed and turned her attention to the scenery outside the window. The rest of the ride was uneventful and before she knew it, they were passing through two iron wrought gates and pulling up to a magnificent mansion. Another twang of nostalgia coursed through her, though the whitenette did well to conceal it. Getting out, she stared at the mansion in awe, awe that did not go unnoticed by Squalo. "Heh. Welcome to Varia Headquarters."

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R&R please~


	4. Now What?

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Skyla15699: I'm not sure if you got my pm or not, but if not, I wanted to thank you for being the first to review my story ;u; so thank you so much! /gives appreciation cake. And yes 8D ahahaha I agree completely XD

KHRLover1997: Thank you~ I haven't written violence before, so I'm trying to improve X'DD There shall (hopefully) be a lot more in the future!

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**Chapter Three: Now What? **

"Varia… Headquarters…" Truth be told, it looked like something out of a fairytale if you asked her. The sheer size and majesty of the building rendered Luna speechless. Everything was beautiful… It wasn't until she felt another tug on her arm did she snap out of her thoughts. "Oh…" Letting Squalo lead her along, blue hues took the chance to absorb every minute detail as they walked inside and down the long corridor. _Whoever the Varia are, are flippin' rich_, she thought with envy. If the limousine and living conditions were any indication of what their lives were like, Luna began to suspect that they must be in some sort of business that made a lot of money. _Mafia…?_ With that thought in mind, Luna studied the silver haired man in a new light._ Is he part of the Mafioso as well? _The memory of his earlier remark came to mind and she remembered him saying her 'mother' was from an enemy Famiglia. _So… I guess that does make him one…_ Blue hues trailed down from his face to the hand that was tightly gripping her wrist. Tight, but surprisingly it wasn't painful. Absently, she tugged her wrist from his grip, and instead laced her fingers with his as if it were the most natural thing in the world. This caused Squalo to rip his hand away from her, a look of incredulity on his face. "What the fuck was that?!"

"Hmm? Oh, well you keep holding onto me, and won't let me walk on my own, so I decided if I was going to be dragged, I'd rather it be in a more comfortable position."

"Feh… As if." Turning away with a disgusted look on his face, Squalo continued forward with his hands shoved into his pockets. In a quiet voice so Luna couldn't hear, he muttered to himself, "Some things never change…"

Shaking her head, Luna let out a sigh, _is he embarrassed?_ The thought brought a small smile to her lips but it turned into an inquisitive look when they reached a set of oak French doors with ornate engravings delicately carved into its surface. Judging by the difference of these doors compared to the other ones they had passed through, it was clear to the amnesic that whoever was behind these ones, was important.

With a yank, one of the doors opened and Squalo sauntered in, yelling as he did, "VOIIIIIIII! I brought her shitty boss!" A smirk stretched across his lips, but it quickly died when a tequila glass smashed against his head. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!"

"Get out trash, you look disgusting." A deeply timbre voice responded. His tone was almost lazy, but with an edge of anger that would never disappear. He spoke in a manner that denoted he was above everyone and everything. _That voice…_She knew it… Poking her head in to see who that voice belonged to, Luna first noticed that the man in the chair was lounging as if he were a king. His head was propped up against his hand and somehow, he already had another alcohol filled glass in his other hand, despite having thrown one at Squalo's head seconds ago. Luna's gaze travelled up from the glass to his face, letting out a soft gasp when she made eye contact with the pair of blood-red hues that had haunted her dreams for eight years. The way they burned with eternal rage made her hairs stand on end and she quickly averted her gaze. Taking in the rest of his features, Luna couldn't help but feel he was a polar opposite of her. His dark skin laced with scars, raven black hair, and intense crimson hues contrasted greatly with her ivory unmarred skin, silvery white hair, and sky blue orbs.

The moment they had made eye contact, Xanxus' indifferent expression wavered for a brief instant before his gaze turned away. "Leave her here and get out of my sight." Squalo was about to say something more when another glass shattered against his head, "Don't fucking make me repeat myself scum."

"Tch." Gritting his teeth, Squalo looked between the two a moment longer, his mind running through the multiple ways this could play out before shaking his head and sparing his boss a few last words, "Just so you know, she doesn't remember shit." With that, the Varia Captain turned on his heel and stomped out, pushing Luna into the room as he exited and slamming the door shut behind him.

Xanxus' eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch before his eyes narrowed dangerously. _The fuck did he just…_A low growl emanated from his throat as his anger rose. _So not only is still a potential enemy, but she can't even give me the answers I want?_ Turning the full brunt of his glare on the whitenette, he was without doubt pissed off. "Useless trash…" He snarled.

Even from across the room, Luna could clearly feel his killing intent. It was smothering, and if she hadn't been as far as she was, it would have felt much worse. Yet, however intimidated she was, she didn't appreciate being called useless. "Excuse me?" Her voice was quiet, but in a silent room, it did well to reach the brunette's ears. "What right do you have to send your men to follow, corner, and abduct me? And now that I'm here you call me useless?" Again, that familiar tingling spread out underneath her skin, calming her and reassuring her that everything would be alright. "If you wanted me brought here just to degrade me, then I think you really need to get a new hobby." Her voice had taken on a chilling edge, one that Xanxus had heard on occasion when she got angry, something that was rare.

_Just who does he think he is?_ Said female fumed silently. Her anger only made the temperature drop even further, so much so that frost began to form on the window panes. However, from Luna's point of view, it didn't seem cold at all, nor did she notice that her irises began to shift to a lighter, steelier blue.

Xanxus merely snorted at her words before lazily drawing his gun and aiming it at her, about to tell her to shut it. He stopped upon feeling the temperature in the room plummet. _Well… this is new. _She used to be so in control of her power, never using it outside of battle or fun, but at the moment, it seemed she wasn't even aware she was using them. "Che." Firing a shot near her head, Xanxus succeeded in burning a beautiful hole into the previously white wall behind her, giving him a spectacular view of the hallway. His intent was to snap her out of whatever she was in, though it didn't seem to do much at all… Luna had stood there unflinchingly as the ball of fire sailed past her head, singeing a few stray hairs as it did. _Did she think I wouldn't actually shoot at her?_ The thought annoyed him, and if he didn't want answers so badly, he would have gladly burned her to crisp for what she'd done.

To tell the truth, Luna did think that he wouldn't hit her, hence she refused to move at the spot, though her eyes did widen considerably when a fireball came out of the gun instead of a bullet. She wasn't entirely sure why, just that something in his eyes told her he wouldn't kill her… Yet. Knowing now that he didn't mean her any immediate harm, the tingling began to recede, letting the room slowly return to its original temperature. Letting out a relieved sigh, Luna glanced back over to Xanxus, finally realizing she didn't know his name, nor the name of the silver-haired man. Yet both knew her… "Who are you?" She remembered when she had asked the loud guy that, but he didn't respond, instead deciding to ridicule her.

The Varia boss merely stared at her for a moment before taking a long drink from the glass in his hand. How he managed to procure another glass was beyond anyone, and he wasn't about to elaborate. _How bothersome._ He thought with a scowl. Just then, Squalo appeared, this time coming through the hole in the wall rather than the door. Needless to say, he was angry and surprised. He hadn't expected Luna to still be in one piece, and he was pissed at his boss for wrecking the mansion… again. "VOIIIIIIIIIIIIII! FUCKING BOSS! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" At this, Xanxus merely fired another shot at his Captain, not caring if it actually hit or not, just as long as it made Squalo go away. "I thought I told you to get the fuck out of my sight."

Squalo fell silent then, a serious look on his face for once. "I need to tell you a few things." Glancing at Luna he made an irritated noise at the back of his throat before pushing her out of the room via the hole. "OI, GAY FREAK, TAKE CARE OF HER!" He hollered down the hall. As if by magic, a man with a very… uh… peculiar sense of fashion and esthetics came skipping, yes skipping, down the hall, a ladle in hand while sporting a flowery apron. "Yes Squ-chan~?" Smiling brightly, he arrived just in time to see Luna stumble from the room, and steadied her before the poor girl took a tumble. "Oh my~ What an unsteady girl you are~" Winking he placed two fingers on her chin to lift her face up, hoping to get a better look at this cute lady. When he finally realized who it was, his expression hardened for a second before a forced smile fell into place. "Luna. I didn't expect to see you here."

At this point, Squalo stepped in. "Just get her to her room and then get your ass back here." After a moment's hesitation, Lussuria nodded and whisked the girl off. "Come along then. Your room is just the way you left it…" His voice was slightly strained as he spoke, and his gait faster than usual. After Luna had disappeared that day, no one went near her room. Well, they did search it, but there was nothing except photos of everyone together. Nothing to suggest that she would turn her backs on them, nothing to imply that she would betray the one person who trusted her more than anyone else in the world. Lussuria in particular couldn't bear to let anyone touch her belongings, wanting to believe that she'd come back one day and explain herself. In his eyes, they had been like sisters, and her actions hurt more than it had hurt the others, save a certain raven haired male and silver-haired captain. They never let on to it of course, but he had a mother's instincts, so of course he'd know. They never brought her up, no one did, and if she ever slipped into their conversations, no one would use her name, and soon, they all but forgot.

_So why now… After eight years, why come back when Xanxus has just come back?_ His eyes widened slightly at his next thought. _Is it because she knew she was unsuccessful? _If she was planning on freezing Boss again, Lussuria wouldn't be able to idly sit by. His thoughts weren't able to go further than that as they had arrived at Luna's room. On the door hung a crescent moon to represent her namesake and Lussuria turned to the room's owner, "Well, here we are. Be a good girl and stay inside alright Luna-chan?" Ushering her in, he continued, "Why not take a shower or something?" With that, he quickly shut the door before silently locking it and hurrying back to the Boss' office.

Upon arriving, Lussuria noted that he was the last one to arrive and hastened to his spot.

"So spill it scum, my patience is running out." Xanxus glared at his captain before said man glared back and began to speak. "So today…"

* * *

Left by herself, Luna began to look around, hoping to find something that could help with her amnesia. On the desk she came across hundreds of pictures strew across its surface, each of them situated here at the mansion. Some had her and the silver-haired guy though he didn't look very happy. Some were even with that scary crimson hued guy. He looked even less happy to be photographed. The rest were with a baby, some guy with a tiara, or that weird green haired guy. Oh, actually, all but one, which featured Luna and some man with spiky hair and whacky facial hair. She knew the green haired man was Luss, but the other three she didn't know_…_ But no matter who she was with, the Luna that stared back at her looked genuinely happy. Whoever she was, had really loved these people. So then… Why did they all look so unhappy to see her? Nervous, guarded, and downright furious in some cases. _I mean really? Shooting at me? Pressing a sword to my throat? Not exactly what you would do to a friend…_ She mused with a frown. Gently setting the photos back down, she rose and went back to exploring the room. Beside her bed, the silvery white-haired girl was surprised to find a set of double rapiers and a pistol on her bedside table. _Just who was I? And who are they?_ Having weapons by your bed was definitely something she never did, or at least not the current her. Clearly her former self did it regularly.

Taking a seat on the bed as she studied the weapons, Luna hesitated before tentatively wrapping a hand around one of the blades, a sudden sense of familiarity washing through her. The weight, length, and overall feel of the sword felt so natural in her hand. It was more of an extension of her arm if anything, and upon taking the second rapier in her other hand, she had the same feeling. Curiously, she rose from the bed and experimentally swung the swords. The way they sliced through the air without a sound made her smile a bit, her body remembering how to handle the weapons much better than her mind did. After a few moments of admiring them, she slipped them back into their respective sheaths, having decided that a room was definitely not a good place to be swinging sharp things around in.

Once again left with nothing to do, Luss' parting words drifted back to her and she decided she might as well. The clothes she had on now were stained with blood, though now it was dried. Searching through the drawers and closet, Luna pulled out an oversized button up shirt and a pair of pajama shorts. _What's up with this shirt? It's clearly not my size… more over it's a man's shirt…_ Furrowing her brows she held it up before shaking her head and putting it back into its place. _Definitely not wearing that…_ Finally, she settled for a cream blouse and a pair of black skinnies. Since it was only mid afternoon, Luna didn't feel that it was right to change into casual clothes just yet, especially if the need for her to flee for her life arose. Bringing the clothes to the washroom connected to her room, the amnesic took care not to dirty the clothes and placed them neatly on the table before stripping and stepping into the warm spray of water. In the end, after she had finished washing up, Luna stood under the stream of water for a while longer, contemplating what she was to do now. She was still a bit skeptical of what the silver-haired man had said in regards to her mother and wanted to let the woman know she was alright at the very least. Turning off the water, she continued to ponder this, all the while drying herself off and slipping on the clean clothes. Combing her hair, she left a few strands stayed loose to frame her face before she braided the rest of it loosely to the right and letting it hang in front of her shoulder. "There…" She said with satisfaction. Leaving the washroom, she was greeted by Lussuria.

Blinking, she nodded in acknowledgement towards him, "Did you need me for something?"

"Mmm I suppose you could say that… We decided that introductions are probably in order since you'll be staying here for a while." Lussuria fiddled with apron while he spoke, but the moment he finished, the green haired man grabbed Luna's arm and led her back to the room with a hole in its wall. Stepping inside, she felt her eyebrows go up, recognition flashing across her face at the people in the room. All of them were the same as those in the photographs.

The one with peculiar facial hair didn't let that slip his attention, his face darkening as he jabbed an accusing finger at her, "HA! What a faker! She remembers us, I just saw that she recognized who we are!" Striding up to her, he sneered down at the female, disgust written all over his face. "So _puttana_[1], care to explain what yourself?" Luna glowered at the insult. "Sorry to disappoint, you _fottuto stronzo _[2]," but I only recognized you all from the photos in my room." Stepping to the side, Luna walked around him only to be greeted by four knives heading for her head. Her eyes followed the knives, frozen for a second as her mind freaked at what was about to happen. At the same time, her body reacted, dropping to the ground and rolling out of harm's way. A split second slow thanks to her momentary freeze, leaving her with a thin cut on her cheek. _Great… I'm just being sliced and diced today aren't I?_ She thought in displeasure. Gingerly pressing her finger to the cut, she sighed before standing back up to confront the man who just tried to turn her into a dartboard. "Ushishishishi, it seems the peasant still remembers how to dodge. Wonderful." His fingers twirled a series of knives back and forth, a Cheshire-like grin plastered to his face. Opening her mouth to speak, Luna was abruptly interrupted by Lussuria who had clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Anyways, we're here to introduce~ The tall man with the spiky hair is Leviathan, that there, the boy who just threw knives at you is Bel, the floating baby is Mammon, the silver-haired man who brought you here is Squ-chan, and the strong, handsome one is Xanxus." Once Lussuria had finished his spiel, Luna looked around at the faces, all of them being registered at total strangers with the exception of Xanxus; or at least, his eyes. "VOIIIIII! DON'T GIVE ME SUCH A PATHETIC NICKNAME. I'm SUPERBI SQUALO, so don't you dare call me that disgusting nickname." Squalo waved his sword angrily at them before continuing, "So? SAY SOMETHING WOMAN!" Luna hesitated, looking them all over again, before her blue hues rested on Xanxus once more, his indifferent expression and disinterested gaze so unlike the eyes in her dream. "Well…" She started. _Might as well speak the truth…_ She was more than sure they'd be able to tell if she was lying anyways… "I only remember Xanxus' eyes… They kept appearing in my dreams for eight years…" Her voice trailed off into a mumble as she realized how weird and slightly creepy that sounded.

An awkward silence followed, though when Luna glanced over to Levi she swore she could hear the whistling of steam coming out from his ears. It was Lussuria who finally broke the silence, "Well then… It seems the only one who has a chance to restore your memories is the Boss…" At this, Xanxus finally dragged his gaze over to her, unidentifiable emotions flickering in those eyes of his. Either way, she wasn't comfortable with what Lussuria was implying. A laugh interrupted her thoughts, confirming them at the same time, "Ushishishi, then it's settled. The peasant shall serve the king until we get what we need from her." The meaning was perfectly clear in his words. They were going to keep her around till she regained her memories, then they'd wring her of them and dispose of her once they were done. Great. _Does this mean I have to stick with him twenty-four seven?_ She thought in slight apprehension. Not only did shoot at her earlier, he seemed to have a deep-rooted resentment towards her.

Xanxus, though not happy with this either, had to admit he was pleased. Out of everything, he had been the only thing that remained in her memories. Standing up, he downed the rest of his tequila before walking up to Luna. "Don't get in my fucking way trash." With that, he pushed past her and left the room. To Luna, it sounded like he was belittling her, but to the others, that was as close to approval of their idea as they'd ever get from him.

_Thank God…_ They all thought in unison (with the exception of Levi).

* * *

[1] = whore/prostitute

[2] = fucking asshole

R&R please~


	5. Confliction

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N: It's a new day~ ;u;

KHRLover1997: hurhurhur D /thumbs up

Skyla15699: Yes! 8D 3

Ughhh I feel like the end was a bit rushed… OTL

* * *

**Chapter Five: Confliction**

_"Hey, let's make a promise." Xanxus opened his eyes and shot an are-you-serious look at the speaker. His hands were folded behind his head and he laid on his back, staring up at the person leaning over him. Her eyes matched the colour of the sky, and her hair matched the clouds. "You know I don't make promises." He growled at her. At that, the girl merely laughed, her voice sounding melodious and soothing, unlike the irritation he felt when others laughed. Those times, all he wanted was to rip out their vocal cords so they wouldn't be able to make those annoying sounds anymore. But… If it was her, he wouldn't mind listening to it. "Then, let me promise you something okay Xan?" At the nickname, he frowned, "Xan? What the fuck woman."_

_"Hey now, if I call you something that no one else can, doesn't that make it more special?" At this, he made an annoyed sound before closing his eyes again. "Do what you want." _

_Even without opening his eyes, he knew she was smiling. "Thank you~ Now, back to my promise. I swear on my life that no matter what I do, it will always be with you in mind Xan. If I'm fighting, it'll be to help you. If I scold you, it'll be for your own good. And…" Her voice dropped to an inaudible whisper. On that day, he couldn't catch those words, but now they seemed to resonate in his ears. "And if it ever feels like I'm betraying you, I'm not, and I never will. Because I just promised to stay by your side and protect you. So please… Trust me." He opened his eyes again at that, his brows furrowed as he processed her words. Opening his mouth he wanted to ask her what was with those shitty words, but nothing came out. Instead, he watched as she gave him one last smile before disappearing completely. _

_The dreamscape changed, and now he was sped forward a few years to that night; the night of the Cradle Affair. Roaring with anger, Xanxus faced off against Timoteo, furious that he would never be the next Vongola boss, furious that his adoptive father had only taken him in out of pity. He had attacked with the intent to kill, and yet, this man, this _old_ man, had taken him down so easily. Not yet… Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand, and to attack again. Only this time, the old man did nothing, he stood there with a sad look in his eyes before raising his staff. At the last moment, Timoteo stopped what he was doing, a surprised look on his face at the figure who had stepped between the two, their hands outstretched towards Xanxus as if to embrace him. Crimson hues widened in shock when he came to recognize the person standing before him, her eyes cold like the ice she wielded. "Luna…?" Disbelief coloured his voice as he stared at her, trying to understand what she was doing. "I'm sorry Xan…" With a grim smile on her face he suddenly became aware of the coldness crept into his body, rooting him on the spot. Placing her hand on his cheek, she leaned in to whisper so only he could hear, all the while the ice slowly encasing his body. "This isn't goodbye Xan, I promise that this is for the best… Please…" The rest of the words seemed to fade as the ice completely imprisoned him, leaving him in completely darkness. _

* * *

With a start, blood red hues flew open, a scowl already present on his face. _What a shitty dream_. He thought with a snort. He had just woken up, and already he wanted to kill someone. Luckily for him, a victim came in not long after, namely one of the poor servants tasked with waking him up. "X-Xanxus Sir…" The poor male stuttered as he slipped inside, not sure if the Boss was even up yet. The instant he was fully inside the room, a flaming hand shot out to greet him, grabbing his face and smashing his head into the wall. The smell of burning flesh filled the room and the man's futile screams rang through the hallways. Eventually the screams died out as the man's head was reduced to a blackened and charred skull. "Tch." Burning the filth from his hand, Xanxus let the man's body drop limply to the ground where he kicked it away from him. Grabbing his coat, the Varia Boss sauntered out of the room, slightly more satisfied. However, if the trash wasn't removed from his room by the time he returned, there would be hell to pay.

Reaching the dining room, he slowed upon hearing voices within, one of which he had just recently had the displeasure of dreaming about. As he neared, he was able to catch the end of what was being said between his sun guardian and the brat.

"…Eh?! I'll have to from now on?" There was a pause before she continued, "Alright."

"Great~ I'm sure it'll work out just fine!"

"Ushishishi, this will be entertaining for the Prince."

"Muu… If anything happens, I'm not paying for your funeral fees."

At that point, Xanxus practically kicked the door open and strode in, indifferent to their conversation. Of course, with his entrance, the room went silent for a moment as all eyes turned to follow the Boss' movements. Taking his seat at the head of the table, his gaze swept over them before turning to his food. Before him was a fresh cut of rib-eye steak, cooked just the way he wanted. Cutting into the meat, he ate a piece before stopping and narrowing his eyes. This hadn't been cooked by one of the scum who called themselves chefs… He hadn't tasted this type of cooking in a while… Who had made it again? After a few moments, he dismissed it as irrelevant and took another bite. To his left was an almost inaudible sigh of relief while at the other end Levi looked like he wanted to cry. Not caring to find out why, Xanxus continued to eat, not even pausing when Squalo spoke, "Voi! So what do you think shitty boss?" The glare he received was a good enough answer. At that, Lussuria smiled a bit and spoke, "You're off to a good start Luna-chan~"

Looking over to his left, he finally took notice of the whitenette sitting a couple seats down. She gave Lussuria a small smile before returning to her own food. "What was that trash?" He growled darkly. This made the green haired male shoot up in his seat before turning to explain. "Uh, you see, since yesterday we said that Luna would be attending to you, er, sticking with you, we had her cook your breakfast since that's what she used to do!" Lussuria said in a rush. "We thought it might stimulate her memories." He added hastily. Silence followed as Xanxus continued eating, no longer interested in what his subordinates had to say. Once he had finished, the brunette stood up and began to walk out, intent on finding some alcohol and to drink undisturbed. Unfortunately for him, Luna got up as well after being nudged by Lussuria, and followed after him.

* * *

"Go on~" Lussuria nudged Luna with his elbow and she blinked before realizing what he meant. "…Right…" With a sigh, she rose and followed after the temperamental man. He paid her no heed as they went back to his office. Upon arriving, the blue eyed girl was surprised to find the wall completely repaired, with no indication that it had ever been damaged. Shaking her head in wonder, she trailed after him once more, standing with her back to the door once inside. Seeing the bottle of tequila in his hand made her raise an eyebrow and before he had a chance to pour any, she had relieved him of the bottle. Blinking, his eyes narrowed dangerously and he glared at her. "Give it back scum." Shaking her head, she held the bottle farther away. "You're not drinking this early." Snarling, he pointed his gun at her head and seethed, "What I do doesn't fucking concern you trash."

"No." Her unwavering gaze met his blazing one, and he felt a vein throb in his forehead. About to pull the trigger, he was interrupted when Squalo burst in. "VOIIIII, HALF OF THE VONGOLA RINGS ARE BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE NINTH'S GRANDSON!" With a frown, Xanxus turned his gaze to Squalo, though keeping his gun aimed at Luna. "Then why are you still here you piece of shit?" This made Squalo snap and he stomped his foot before yelling angrily, "BECAUSE YOU'D GET PISSED IF I DIDN'T TELL YOU!" With that, he made his exit, albeit a rather noisy one. With that out of the way, Xanxus turned his attention back to the nuisance in front of him, only to find the woman wasn't even there anymore. Movement in his periphery caught his attention and ruby orbs flitted over to where the woman was admiring a painting on the wall. "Tch." Putting his gun away, he retrieved another bottle of alcohol and was about to pour himself a glass when that was taken from him too. "No drinking. It's bad for your liver." Luna said pointedly. This really got him riled up and he pressed the gun to her temple. "Don't fucking act like you even give a shit." With his other hand, he grabbed her throat and slammed her into the wall, earning him a small gasp of pain from the girl in his grasp. "Keep your fucking nose out of my fucking business or I'll burn you." His grip around her neck tightened, and a part of him wanted to see her tremble in fear, or look at him with hate, because that at least would make sense, but instead, she just stood there and coolly stared at him, determination in her eyes more than anything. His grip wasn't tight enough that she was choking yet so she spoke, her voice defiant, "Because it makes you look weak. You drink as if you're trying to forget something, as if you're trying to numb something. When you do, your eyes dull and it seems to help temporarily, but even then you know it won't really solve anything." Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, and pulled it away from her throat with surprising strength. "And yes, I don't think I care at all, but the former me seemed to hold you in such high regard. Why, I'll never know. But I want to understand what you were to me, and why I didn't just leave when I had to deal with your temper every day."

"Che. Don't talk like you fucking know anything shitty brat." He snarled in a dark voice. Ripping his hand away from her, he snatched the bottle out of her hand and returned to his seat. This time he didn't bother trying to pour the alcohol, instead, he drank it straight from the bottle, glaring at Luna the entire time so she couldn't take it from him again. Sighing, said female shook her head, deciding to back off today. Turning her attention to his desk, she couldn't help but gape at the amount of unfinished paperwork scattered across its surface, not to mention how disorganized everything was. Crimson hues followed her gaze and upon landing on the papers, an idea came to him and he smirked, "Make yourself useful trash. If you finish this in an hour, I'll consider sparing your life considering how insolent you were." Turning to him with concealed disbelief, she frowned and walked over to the desk where she picked up a page to read its contents. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that difficult, mostly time consuming. _An hour though… Can I do it? Should I even have to do it?_ But she did want to understand him better, and if this could help in anyway, aside from sparing her life, she would definitely try. "Fine." Settling into the seat, she started by arranging the pages in order by subject and date before she began filling them out.

Unbeknownst to her, Xanxus kept his gaze on her as she made various expressions at the contents of the page. It felt too much like the past, and eventually, he directed his gaze out the window and propped his legs up on the side of the desk as he continued to drink. Luna raised a brow at his actions but opted not to comment, instead concentrating all her focus on the task at hand. Soon, all that could be heard was the rustling of pages and the sound of writing.

* * *

_There… Finally done!_ With a relieved sigh, Luna stretched and glanced at the clock. _Oh crap…_ Instead of one hour, it had been three and a half. Nervously turning to face her soon to be executioner, she felt her jaw drop to the ground upon seeing him peacefully slumber. _This is wrong… He shouldn't be allowed to look like that…_She thought sourly. Not only was he blissfully sleeping, but there was no trace of anger on his face. He ever present scowl had been smoothed and his deathly aura momentarily gone. His head was propped up by his hand, and an empty bottle rested in his lap, his other hand draped across it in a relaxed manner. Shaking her head, Luna put the papers into organized stacks before slowly and carefully pushing back her chair so she didn't wake him. Tiptoeing over to the couch in the far corner, she grabbed the blanket that was neatly folded and draped on the armrest before returning to where the brunette was. _This is so stupid…_ She thought as she neared him. Not only was she not sabotaging him for his earlier treatment of her, but instead she was taking care of his health. _I really want to know why him. Of all the stupid, selfish, egotistical, cruel, temperamental assholes in this place, why did I have to remember something about this one? He's the worst out of them all._ Frowning unhappily, she spread the blanket over him, half expecting Xanxus to wake up and kill her where she stood. Instead, all he did was shift a bit before falling back into a deeper sleep, much to Luna's relief.

Once that was done, she quickly exited the room and practically ran down the hall. It was past lunch now but she figured that if she found the kitchen she'd also find food. A few times she had to stop and ask for directions but in the end, she had made it to her destination. Knocking on the door, she asked politely, "Excuse me, if it's not too much trouble could I get something to eat?" The chefs nodded immediately, a more relaxed smile on their faces. _Thank god it's her and not one of those maniacs_, many of them thought unanimously. "Of course Miss Luna, right away!" _Oh? Do they know me?_ Blinking, she decided not to ask and just stood there as they prepared a meal for her. "Here you are." They handed her a plate with a beautifully prepared Duck Confit with a small coslaw salad on the side. _Wow…_ She thought. "Thank you," She said appreciatively. Walking from the kitchen, she made her way down the hall, munching on her food as she did.

After wandering for ten minutes, she found herself outside, only this time she was at the back of the mansion and not the front. Before her were gardens capable of putting Eden to shame, though that might have been a bit of an exaggeration. Chuckling softly to herself, Luna made her way over to a bench where she sat down and continued eating, taking the time to enjoy the beauty of the nature surrounding her. That is, until a knife was hurled towards her head. Leaning to the side, she let it pass by her, not wanting to give that freaky prince the satisfaction of ruining her peace. Taking yet another bite, she ducked when another flew towards her, and after that, Luna had to get up to avoid being skewered where she sat. It wasn't until something snagged her arm when she tried to take another bite of her food did she realize there was wires. "For heaven's sake… Bel, do you have nothing better to do?"

"…Ushishishishi, the peasant is stupid to have been caught so easily, no? Or perhaps the Prince is just too cleaver." Emerging from the bushes was that familiar tiara, followed by a mop of blonde hair and Cheshire smile. "I'm trying to eat." Luna huffed. However, Belphegor merely ignored her, already setting the target for his next knife. _The peasant that used to be a Princess is no longer worthy of that title and needs to be punished for tricking the Prince into believing she was._ With a flick of his wrist, his next knife soared towards her left shoulder, but sadly, it failed to hit. Already entangled as it was, Luna just barely avoided the weapon, but in return, she sustained a multitude of smaller cuts from the wires, and this did not make her happy at all. Turning a slightly annoyed gaze on the teen, she said softly, "Bel, let me go." As with all the other times, the air began to turn chilly, and Luna's hues began shifting colours to a steelier blue. Taking an involuntary step back, Bel had forgotten what she was like when angered. _But she's supposed to have forgotten. _A series of little pops caught his attention, and he realized that was the sound of his wires snapping; wires that were supposed to withstand almost anything. Impossible! When he cautiously picked one up that had drifted to the ground by his feet, he was surprised to see frozen blood on the end where it had snapped off from the other section. _Her… blood?_ A moment later, the blood thawed and dripped off, and soon, the coldness in the air disappeared too. Looking up at his former teammate in bewilderment, he was about to make a snide comment when she spoke. "Thank you."

"…Eh?" He stared at her through his bangs in confusion. "Why are you thanking me peasant…" He asked wearily. In turn, she looked at him with a reflected expression, "Because you let me go…?" Furrowing her brows at him, she stared at the strange boy a moment longer before shrugging and walking off with what remained of her lunch, letting out a little groan when she catalogued all the wounds she had from their encounter.

Bel's gaze trailed after her for a moment, not understanding how she didn't realize that she was the one who freed herself. I mean, a temperature drop of fifteen degrees is noticeable, no? Then again, back then Luna never seemed to be bothered by the cold either…_ The peasant is strange._ He thought in conclusion.

* * *

With a grumble, crimson hues flew open before immediately regretting that decision and screwing shut once more. The bright light streaming in through the windows was blinding in comparison to the darkness behind his eyelids. Blinking several times to adjust, Xanxus straightened in his seat, his feet dropping from the table. Lifting a hand, he became aware of something covering him and looked down to see a blanket. _The fuck…_ throwing it off, he stood up and tossed the bottle aside, not caring where it landed. The room was empty, save for him, and the paperwork on his desk had been completed and stacked into neat piles. Realization of what had happened hit him, and he let out a growl. _I fucking fell asleep in _her_ presence?!_ That was beyond humiliating. Not only did he leave himself vulnerable, but she had mocked him further by putting a blanket over him. What was wrong with him? _It's that fucking trash's fault,_ he seethed. She was making him weak, just like she had done in the past, pure and simple, and therefore, the only logical thing to do would be to eliminate that cause.

Stalking out of the room, he made his way through the halls, and eventually all over the entire mansion, yet unable to find the stupid woman anywhere. It wasn't until he passed by the kitchen did he hear her familiar laughter and backtracked until he was standing in the doorway. At the sink she stood with her back to him, helping one of the servants wash the dishes and laughing freely as they talked about who knows what. Raising his gun, he aimed it straight for her head, his finger on the trigger. As he started to apply pressure, he only managed to press the trigger a fraction of an inch before his hand refused to go any further. Angry, he raised his other gun instead, but quickly ran into the same problem.

Dropping both arms, he grit his teeth. _Why? Why won't my body fucking listen to me?!_ …_Don't think, just shoot. _Quickly raising his arm, he cleared his mind and tried to pull the trigger again, only to have his aim waver considerably the moment that head of silvery white hair came into view. "Shit…" He was still drunk… That must be it. But that thought didn't help to ease his wrath. With a furious roar that finally attracted everyone's attention, he channeled every bit of fury he felt and fired it in a different direction than where Luna was, effectively massacring a quarter of his kitchen staff and blowing up that section of the kitchen. Chaos ensued and a cacophony of screams filled the kitchen. People ran for their lives, some injured, some not, and some just lay on the grounds by their stations, nothing left but a charred corpse.

Looking away from his work with a semi-pleased expression on his face, Xanxus met Luna's gaze and she stared at him in confusion and anguish. Already he could hear her question ringing in his head. _Why did you do that Xan? They didn't do anything wrong!_ "Che…" That just made him pissed again, and he left her with a parting glare before turning and exiting the room.

"What was that for Xanxus…" She whispered at his back.

* * *

R&R


	6. Welcome to Japan

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

KHRLover1997: yesh =D

Skyla15699: Thank you u

Oh alrighty~ ^^ You make a good point… Looking back at them I'm like… Those walls of text . Yeah, as a reader, I prefer them broken up too… aha…. OTL

Time skip forward a couple days when Squalo returns with the rings… and then a few more days to when Xanxus finds out they're fake X'D

I realize in the manga they probably didn't stay in a hotel, but since I don't know where they were, I'm sticking with a hotel ;u; b

I also noticed how boring some parts are but I didn't want to continually time skip since that would make it choppy so I tried to stick some interactions in during the uneventful periods… This applies to the next chapter too…

* * *

**Chapter Six: Welcome to Japan**

It was early, and the only people up were the hired help, yet here she was, standing outside his door, reluctant to go in but knowing she had to. For the past two days she had been trying to find a better way to wake the Varia Boss up since she had previously banged on his door and made a run for it before he burned her. She had already gotten used to the weird fact that instead of using bullets he shot fricking fireballs, but she didn't want to be on the receiving end of them. After that kitchen incident they had more or less ignored each other, although she seemed to be doing most of the ignoring since he never cared in the first place…

Shaking her head, she nervously chewed on her lip before steeling herself and quietly pushing the door open. Slipping inside, she blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness and to familiarize herself with the room's layout. Things were strewn everywhere, bottles, clothes, papers… And on the four poster bed was a heap of disheveled satin blankets. Going over to it, she took care not to slip or trample anything, and upon reaching the bedside, she felt her heart do a little flip at the sight of a slumbering Xanxus. _God I hate him…_ She thought. He looked like a surreal painting with one arm was tucked under his pillow and the other draped across the blankets. Sleep had smoothed the creases between his brow and a serene expression had replaced his usual scowl.

Before she realized what she was doing, Luna had reached out to touch his face, as if to verify he was indeed the same person. She ran her fingers through his raven locks, a bit surprised his hair was soft against her fingers considering it looked so spiky. With an inaudible giggle, she knew he would kill her if he woke up, but seeing as he was a semi-deep sleeper, the girl felt that she was in the safe zone for now. After playing with his hair for a few more moments, she trailed a finger to the scar on his cheek, her brows furrowing as she wondered how he got that.

The more she studied him, the more something seemed to prickle at the back of her mind. She felt like she was on the verge of remembering something important, but the more she reached out to it, the farther it slipped away. Taking a deep breath, Luna tried harder, only to run into the same wall over and over again. Eventually she let out a sigh of resignation and returned to the task at hand.

Apprehensively she placed a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him, hoping it wouldn't result in a grouchy Xanxus. "Oi… Wake up Xan…" _Xan…?_ _Since when did I call him Xan_, she thought uncomfortably. It had just sounded so natural, as if she had said it a hundred times before, that it had slipped out that way. Surprisingly, he responded to that, his mind still half asleep.

"Fuck off Luna and let me sleep." But unlike all the times he had actually spoken to her, this time, his words held no malice. In fact, Luna could almost say he sounded like a child begging to be allowed to sleep for ten minutes longer. Not just that, but he hadn't called her trash, shitty brat, or scum. _Did he just use my name?_ She thought incredulously. Rendered speechless for a few seconds, she let a small smile creep onto her face. Instinctively, the silvery-white haired female leaned in, letting what felt most natural come forth unhindered by her mind. "If you don't, I'm not making you steak."

This made the brunette's eyes fly open, a protest on his lips, but as he began to fully wake up, he bit the words back. The Luna in front of him… Which one was she? "Did you remember yet scum?" He asked bluntly.

Luna's expression fell a bit as she leaned back and shook her head. _Back to calling me scum I see…_ It seemed that the Xanxus before only showed himself in front of the former Luna… Straightening, she got up and began walking to the door. "Get up Xanxus, I'll have your steak ready by the time you get down…" She said softly. With that, the amnesic slipped out of the room, soundlessly shutting the door behind her.

Alone now, Xanxus made an irritated noise before sitting up. _She's remembering… even if it's the most irrelevant things, she's still remembering._ That thought pleased him a bit, but he was an impatient man, and like hell if he was going to acquiescently wait until time helped to mend her memory. If there was any way to speed up the damn process, you can be sure as hell he's going to find it. "Tch… Annoying…" He muttered under his breath.

* * *

_And now I know how to wake him up without dying…_ She mused to herself. There was a chance it might not work again, but seeing as it was the only choice she had, she might as well use it… Stepping into the kitchen, the staff turned to her with terrified eyes, many of them ready to run for cover, and others holding pots and pans up to use as a shield. Once they realized it was her, they relaxed slightly, though still wary in case Xanxus showed up again…

Giving them a sympathetic smile, Luna had nothing to say that could ease their nerves because there was no way she could guarantee their safety. _Why did Xanxus decide to blow up a section of the kitchen anyways? Was it because something tasted bad?_ Her eye twitched at that thought and she grumbled something about how spoiled he was as she made her way to an empty station. Pulling out a beef medallion from the fridge, she began to prepare his meal, noting how last time he more or less avoided the vegetables. _He is such a child…_ Shaking her head, Luna seasoned the beef and wrapped the medallion in bacon before throwing it onto the pan and letting it cook. In the meantime, she busied herself with the preparation of the rest of the food. _He eats the same thing three times a day for god's sake… How does he not get sick of it?!_ Piling some rice onto one part of the plate, she prepared some glazed carrots and zucchini and placed that on another part of the plate. Once the meat was done, she put that on too, added some garnish, and walked out.

The cooks took care of everyone else's breakfast, including hers, and she was in charge of Xanxus' breakfast… It worked well if you asked them. That way, no one else would die for incorrectly preparing his food. Stepping into the dining room, she was relieved to see that Xanxus had just taken his seat and walked over to where he was. As she began to walk over to him, she could hear Levi, Bel, and Lussuria whispering. "Ushishishi, the Prince wins this round."

"Hey, I win too!" Lussuria added hotly. "Only Levi loses."

Raising a questioning brow at the green haired male, Lussuria dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "It's nothing Luna-chan~"

Shrugging, she placed the food in front of Xanxus and caught how he was glaring at the carrots and zucchini the moment he laid eyes on them. Suppressing a smile, she chimed, "Eat them."

"…"

"Xanxus…" She gave him a pointed look and he knew from previous experience that she meant she would stop cooking for him. His eyes narrowed angrily and he pointed his gun at her again, hoping that the threat would be enough.

Luna crossed her arms at that and stared back at him. "It's your loss if you shoot me. Have fun finding someone else who can make your steak the only way you'll eat it." Turning her back to him, she began to make her way to her seat when Levi spoke up. "Bitch, how dare you disobey the Boss! I bet you even poisoned his food." He sneered. Luna felt a tick mark appear on her forehead but she ignored him for the most part. In response to the comment about poison, she walked back to the Varia boss, stabbed the meat, cut off a chunk, and ate it. She then proceeded to eat a bite of the rice and some veggies too. "If I drop dead, then you can gloat, otherwise, shut your trap."

"Boss! You should wait awhile to see if she dies!" Levi interjected panickedly when Xanxus was about to put a piece of meat in his mouth. "Shut it trash." He growled before he continued eating. Luna couldn't help a small smile at that, rather satisfied with herself. Turning to her own breakfast, she hummed happily as she dug into her strawberry pancakes. The sky hued girl had only taken a couple bites when the door was kicked in, announcing the arrival of the Varia's loud Captain. "VOIIIII, I BROUGHT THEM SHITTY BOSS!" Everyone's attention snapped up to the box that Squalo was waving around, a smug grin stretched across his face.

Luna tilted her head curiously, having no idea what was going on. "Finally," Xanxus said callously. Turning to face him, Luna swore he looked a bit triumphant. _Over what though?_

Squalo brought the box over to the brunette who then examined its contents with a satisfied look on his face. With a dark smirk, he slipped what appeared to be half a ring onto his finger, completing the previously incomplete ring. "Finally…"

Leaning over to Lussuria, Luna whispered, "What's with the rings?"

"Oh um… They're an heirloom to the Varia…" He said vaguely with a wave of his hand. Frowning, Luna noticed how he practically brushed her off about it. The sun guardian may have been the most open with her, but even then it was painfully obvious that he didn't trust her enough to let his guard down around her, much less tell her what she wanted to know. Glancing across the table to where Mammon floated, the baby caught her gaze after a few moments and immediately retorted, "Muuu… I'm not telling you anything even if you pay me."

At that, the whitenette felt her eyebrow twitch. _I didn't even ask anything yet…_ She thought sourly. Again, her previous suspicion was confirmed. It seemed that whatever she had done to these people had them hating her guts…

* * *

_Five Days Later_

"Heyyy, did you call Boss?" Squalo said as he walked towards said man with a smug grin on his face. "If you're going to reward me for the half-Vongola rings, I'll gladly accept it."

_Vongola rings…? Is that what they are?_ She thought curiously. Turning her gaze over to Squalo, she was just in time to see Xanxus grab the man's head and slam it into the table. Luna felt her eyes widen slightly, not understanding what the brunette had done that for. Her silent question was voiced by the silver haired male in the next second. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Detaching the half-ring from its counterpart and sliding it off his finger, Xanxus crushed it, his voice smothering with rage. "It's a fake… Iemitsu…" He said the name under his breath, as if it were an explanation as to why the rings were fake.

Standing up, he began to walk, addressing everyone in a deadly voice as he did. "We're leaving for Japan… We'll obliterate them." Rising, Luna followed after Xanxus, completely left in the dark about what was going on. Even during those past five days she was given no answers when she asked about them. If anything, Xanxus would just glare at her before returning to whatever it was he was doing. Lussuria wasn't much help either, giving her vague answers that couldn't even be considered answers no matter how much she pestered him.

Once they reached Xanxus' room, he cast a brief glance at her. "Pack." With that, he slammed the door in her face, leaving Luna staring at the wood for a moment before she turned and went to her room. Dragging an already packed luggage from the closet, initially for when she felt the need to flee, she sat down on her bed and stared over at the rapiers. _Should I…?_ She didn't think she could use them, but at the same time, she was pretty sure she'd be able to should the need arise. Considering the fact that Xanxus had said 'obliterate,' Luna was going to assume she'd need some form of protection. _Taking them it is._ She thought and strapped them to her waist. She tucked the gun into her bag and walked out of the room.

Reaching the foyer, she sat there for a few moments as the others arrived. Squalo's eyes landed on her rapiers and he scoffed, "Can you even use them?" Luna merely shrugged, "No idea." He raised a brow at that before muttering, "Then what's the point?"

Their conversation was cut short when Xanxus finally arrived, signaling their departure. Servants hastily loaded everyone's bags into the back of a car while the Varia members got into a black limo. Opting to sit by Lussuria, Luna buckled herself in before turning her attention out the window as the vehicle began its journey to the airport.

* * *

"Ughhhh…." After a fifteen hour straight flight from Italy to Japan, Luna was so out of it. While the private jet had all the amenities anyone would ever need, the time change really messed her up. They had left Italy at two in the afternoon, and after the fifteen hour flight it was only five am in Italy, but with the seven hour difference, it was already lunchtime in Japan. _I just want to sleep... _She groaned silently. Yawning as they got into another limo, she began to doze off, the last thing she remembered was that her head came to rest on something situated at the perfect height.

"Uh…" Everyone in the limo fell silent at the scene before them. Their boss had already fallen asleep which was the only reason the vehicle was still in one piece, but on his shoulder was another sleeping form. Just the fact that someone had used him as a pillow was bad enough, but the fact that it was the person that froze him solid for eight years just made it a million times worse. No one wanted to wake either up, because both were horribly grouchy when they woke up. More than once did Lussuria try to pull Luna over to his side, but always, she would just furrow her brows when her head contacted the sun guardian's shoulder, dissatisfied that it was too low thus forcing her neck to crane as she tried to rest on it, and go back to the other side to sleep against Xanxus' shoulder.

Levi on the other hand glared daggers at the girl as if that would magically make her wither and die. A few times he attempted to move and just push her off of his Boss, but with his size and the number of people in the limo, he couldn't even get close to where his Boss sat. Instead, he fumed silently in his seat, vowing more than a million times he would end her at the first chance he got.

As they neared the hotel, the Varia members began sweating nervously, none of them wanting to be the one having to wake both of them up. Eventually they resorted to drawing names, and unluckily it was Squalo who was tasked with the suicidal job. The moment the limo pulled up beside the hotel, he didn't give the other members a chance to clear out before he yelled, "VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WAKE UP!" After that, they all bolted out of the vehicle and into the safety of the hotel.

Jolting upright at the sudden loudness. Luna looked around blearily and yawned before fumbling with her seatbelt. "Mmm…" Stretching, she looked around and raised a questioning brow at how empty the limo was. Looking to her left, she found that only Xanxus was left, and he wasn't very happy at being woken up. Ruby hues turned and glared at her for a moment before he practically ripped his seatbelt off and exited the limo. Neither was aware of what had transpired during their nap, and the Varia members were keen on keeping it that way. Getting out after the brunette, Luna let out another yawn as they made their way inside to where the Varia members were waiting.

"Thanks for the wakeup call…" She muttered at Squalo. He made an irritated noise in response before turning away to busy himself with something else. _What's up with him?_ She thought slightly taken aback. Before she had a chance to ask him about it, Lussuria stepped over to them and handed Xanxus and herself a key each. "All of our rooms are close to each other and mine and yours have a connecting door Luna-chan, so if you ever need something, just come on over~" He paused for a moment before suddenly remembering something, "Oh! And your room connects with Boss' since it's your job to wake him up."

Nodding, Luna smiled gratefully at Lussuria, though her mind was thinking something else entirely. _Fat chance… I doubt you'd even help me if I needed it. _

She then cast a sideways glance at the red hued man who was currently glaring at everyone and everything that he laid eyes on. All of the staff quickly looked away or tried to make themselves smaller and more unnoticeable as the group of foreigners walked through the lobby to the elevators. _Isn't he just a bundle of sunshine…_ The moment they reached their rooms, Luna flopped down on her bed and abruptly fell asleep, promising to unpack later.

* * *

_Seven hours later – Evening_

"Boss… should we wake her? I mean we're going soon right? Is it okay if we just leave her unwatched?" Lussuria asked carefully. Levi and Mammon had already left to find the owners of their half-rings' counterparts and the rest were leaving too, or preparing to leave.

"… Station a guard. If he hears her trying to contact anyone, he can intercept."

"Sure thing~"

Getting up, Xanxus downed the contents of his glass in a single gulp before throwing on his jacket and clomping out of the room, Lussuria and Squalo close behind.

In her room, Luna stirred upon hearing a door slam. "Hmm…?" Lifting up her head sleepily, she waited for a few seconds in case she heard anything else, but when she was greeted with silence, the whitenette shrugged and dropped her head back onto the pillow.

When she woke up again, her clock read one am. Sighing, she sat up and was about to take a shower when she heard voices from Xanxus' room. _Is everyone in there?_ She thought quizzically. Nearing the door, she could pick out snippets of their conversation.

"Tomorrow….Namimori."

"Feh…won't last…cond."

There were chuckles after that and soon Luna could hear footsteps as people exited the room. _Namimori…?_ Quietly opening the door, Luna poked her head inside, her eyes searching the room until they fell on Xanxus. "What was that about?" She asked curiously.

Red hues flitted over to her, betraying nothing. "None of your concern." She figured as much. "Fine fine. G'night." Withdrawing, she went back to her bed instead of the shower, suddenly deciding she could sleep for another eight hours or so.

* * *

R&R~


	7. Nostalgia

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N: Oh… by the way, Luna's twenty… aha…

And this is my speculation, but I'd imagine Xanxus to be a bit nicer as a child since he hasn't gotten too messed up yet… X'DD and uses a bit less of the 'trash' 'scum' 'shitty brat' etc. If at all.

Skyla15699: yayyy I'm glad, and thank you~ ^^ ehehe well for now she's neither ;3

Shanagi95: Thank you!

TsubakiHana: Thank you too! I forgot to say that in my A/N last chapter… OTL

BabyShinji: Ehehe yes, I'll do my best~ I forgot to thank you last chapter too...

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Nostalgia**

_What time is it…?_ She wondered in a dazed manner. Light was streaming through her window, and she could hear people and cars in the streets outside. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes before turning to stare at the clock. _Six am… This time difference is really annoying…_ She had hoped it would have been at least nine, because now she had three hours to kill before going to wake Xanxus up. _Oh… Shower…_ Nodding at herself, she slid out of bed and grabbed some clothes for the day before lethargically dragging herself to the washroom and into the shower. Once the water started going, Luna slowly began to wake up and let out a contented sigh as the hot, pelting water worked out the knots she had from sleeping in odd positions.

Stepping out half an hour later, Luna was about to return to her room and pass the time with television when her stomach growled, thus setting her next order of business. Slipping on a pair of flats, she grabbed her bag and opened the door, passing by the surprised guard and walking down to where the elevators were.

"W-wait! Miss, where do you think you're going!?" He tried to sound authoritative, but with that stutter, it more of less failed. Turning, she gave him a slightly exasperated look before answering, "I'm going to eat. There's a restaurant on the first floor, yes? Well I'm hungry, so that's where I'm headed."

"O-oh… Uh, well I have to come with you then…"

"Yes yes…" Ushering him into the elevator, she sighed and leaned back against one of the walls, blue hues focused on the descending numbers while the guard beside her stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Judging by that, the amnesic figured he was probably new. _Poor guy…_

Reaching the bottom, both of them headed straight for the restaurant (though it's technically a buffet…) and the moment she stepped inside, a familiar 'ushishishishi' could be heard. Turning, Luna felt her eye twitch a bit when her gaze came to rest on the only person wearing a tiara in the whole hotel. "Bel. You're up early…" She noted as she approached. "Of course. The Prince must be the first to awake as he is the most important."

Quirking her brow, Luna didn't understand how being the most important equated having to get up the earliest, but decided against asking. What she did ask, however, was why he had a bloody chess board set out in front of him. "Where did you get that… And whose blood is on it?" She inquired warily. Her question made his smile grow and he laughed before answering, "I made a bet. If anyone here could beat the Prince, he'd buy them anything they wanted, no matter the cost. Humans are greedy creatures so it was easy to find some opponents but none of the peasants could beat him. Ushishishi… so as payment, I cut off their fingers."

Wrinkling her nose at his reply, she continued, "And why have the police not arrived?"

"The peasant is blind, yes? Because she cannot see that there is no one left to call the police!" The moment he finished, the storm guardian burst out into slightly crazed laughter. _Now that he mentions it… _Looking around, the entire restaurant was empty save for them and the guard. _Did they all run away to seek medical aid…?_ There was still steaming hot food in the buffet, but no people. Upon closer observation of the ground, there were blood trails too, all leading to severed fingers that had been strewn across different parts of the room. _Oh gross…_ Shivering slightly, she tore her gaze away from them, instead refocusing on Bel. She was a bit surprised to see him grinning at her, and already she had a feeling he was planning something. "Why doesn't the peasant play with the Prince? She should be honoured to be allowed to play the game of Kings."

Blinking, she glanced to the fingers and then back to the tiara boy, "Only if you don't chop me up. And after I eat."

He looked a bit miffed at that, but seeing as there was no one else around to amuse him, he reluctantly agreed.

Satisfied, Luna went over to the buffet table and loaded a plate with fruit, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausages, pretty much everything she could get her hands on. Hey, a girl's gotta eat, okay? Beside her, the guard looked positively green. "How can you still have an appetite after seeing all those… fingers." His voice squeaked a bit at the end, and she looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "I thought as a Varia member you should be used to this by now. In fact, if you've killed someone, I don't see how this can even compare."

He countered lamely with, "I'm new." Luna shook her head before turning to fully face him. "I think this job isn't mean for you. I'm sure you have skills that are desired in this field, otherwise you would have never been recruited, but if you can't stomach seeing fingers detached from their respective hands, I don't see how you'll deal with cracking a person's skull open or ripping out their jugular." The male turned even paler at this, and Luna smiled inwardly. She knew that he probably would never have to do that if he just carried a gun with him, but she didn't want someone as seemingly innocent as him to have to live a life of bloodshed. Reaching out, she sympathetically patted his arm before leaving to sit across Belphegor.

When she arrived, he had already set up the board. Taking a bite of her pancakes, she noticed that he was quietly laughing about something. "What's so funny?" She asked innocently.

"You. It seems the peasant is still as cunning as always." His words didn't sound like a compliment though, and if anything, they carried a hard edge.

She shrugged, "It's true though. After seeing Squalo fight, that's what that poor newbie would have to get used to."

_Speaking of which…_ Sky hues flitted around the empty restaurant in search of said newbie. They found him running out of the place with a hand over his mouth. _It'd be for the best if he left._ She thought with a slight grimace.

With a soft shake of her head, Luna turned back to the board in time to see Bel make his first move. After a moment, she made her move, thus officially beginning the game.

* * *

"Ushishishi… Did the peasant know that the Queen is the most powerful piece, and yet it is the King that is the most important?"

"…Yes…?" She didn't understand where he was trying to go with this, but played along nonetheless.

"Sometimes if the Queen has too much power, the other pieces become fooled into thinking she will always be there because she seems invincible. So when she is destroyed," As he said this, he took her Queen, "The other pieces finally see that she was nothing more than another piece. Check."

Studying the board, Luna had the feeling he wasn't just referring to chess anymore. Moving her knight to capture the bishop that had checked her, she spoke, "But that doesn't mean the Queen didn't do everything she could to protect the other pieces. Even if it meant sacrificing something, like herself, she acted with the other pieces' interests in mind."

Raising her head to look at Bel, she noticed for the first time he wasn't smiling. "Lies. The Queen sacrificed others, never herself. She even turned on the King because she thought she could get away with it, but the other pieces knew better and weren't fooled by the Queen's sly act." Lifting up her captured Queen, Bel crushed it in his hand before leaning in so that his nose was almost touching hers. His grin had returned then and he made his move, all the while holding her gaze. "Ushishishi, checkmate peasant." With that, he abruptly withdrew, knocking her king over with a flick of his finger as he did.

Frowning, Luna slowly rose. Is this what she had done? She had turned on them? Inclining her head slightly, she thanked Bel for the game before turning to leave. Hearing him tsk from behind her, she began to look over her shoulder to see what he was referring to, only to see the glint of a knife sailing towards her eye. Shifting her weight backwards, she stepped out of the knife's path, letting it bury itself into the wall behind her instead of into her eyeball. "The peasant isn't allowed to wander by herself now that her guard is gone."

_Oh right. I forgot about that…_ "So you felt the need to throw a knife at me? You could have just called out…" She grumbled. _If my body hadn't moved on its own accord…_ She paled a bit at the result her mind generated. Belphegor ignored her comment before rising from his seat, "Be grateful the Prince is taking you back to your room."

"…Okay then…" For the most part, the trip was silent, and though it was definitely awkward, Luna would rather that over him trying to turn her into target practice. Once they reached her room, she gave him a last nod before slipping inside and walking straight over to Xanxus' room. It was almost nine, so she didn't see why not…

Tiptoeing into his room like she normally did, Luna had now become accustomed to seeing his sleeping face, but had to admit it made her smile a bit every time she saw it. He looked so unalike his awake self, and she'd usually take a few moments to appreciate how quiet and unthreatening he was during these times. Then, as usual, she'd gently shake him awake. "Xanxus, wake up…"

Today however, he didn't respond at first, so she tried again. Today was also different in that his brows suddenly drew together, as if he were having an unpleasant dream. "Xanxus...?" In the next second, she was aware of a hand gripping tightly around her wrist, and the other hand wrapped around her throat. The brunette's eyes were wide and wildly searching for something that wasn't there. Letting out a weak gasp, Luna winced as his grip tightened, and black spots began to dance across her vision. It took him another moment to fully register what he was doing, and when he did, his grip eased considerably before he let her go. Collapsing at the bedside, Luna violently coughed and sucked in as much air as she could, each breath hurting like hell. Gently massaging her throat, she flinched at the pressure and eventually let her hand drop. Examining her wrist for a moment, she came to the conclusion that if her neck was as bad as her wrist, she was going to have some nasty hand shaped bruises starting tomorrow…

At first, she glared at Xanxus, demanding an explanation, but when she saw how his hair was matted to his face with sweat, she reconsidered. His face was turned away, and she had no idea what kind of expression she was making, but she wondered if this is what he was like when he was in pain. Sky hues travelled down to where his hands were fisted in the blankets, knuckles white from the force of his grip. Carefully picking herself up, Luna took a seat on the bed, her weight causing him to twitch a bit, but he didn't turn. "Get out." He growled lowly.

Luna blinked owlishly, not trusting her damaged throat to do much talking. Shaking her head, she knew he couldn't see, but she didn't mind. Reaching out, she gently brushed the ends of his hair with her finger tips, pausing for a moment when she realized how soaked his hair was. Her brows knitted together and she frowned before leaning forward a bit more to run her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner in hopes that it would calm him down. _What a bad nightmare…_The contact made him relax for a fraction of a second before he seemed to realize something. Whipping around to face her, his eyes blazed as he snarled at her, "Get. OUT." Again, she shook her head, her eyes meeting his defiantly. The sky hued girl frowned at him, her eyes conveying what she didn't know how to say.

She was worried, confused, angry, obstinate about staying, and trying to understand him. Opening her mouth, her words came out barely a whisper, each word stinging a bit in her throat. "I can't. I don't know why… But I can't. Not when you're like this."

Xanxus' eyes widened for a fraction of a second before they narrowed. "You…" A memory came to mind at her words.

_"Xan, what's wrong?" A gentle hand touched his shoulder, causing him to whip his head around to glower at the owner of that voice. "None of your fucking business." _

_"Xan…"_

_"I don't need your pity woman." _

_Luna raised an eyebrow at that. "Pity? Really? You think I'd pity you? I'm worried, you colossal moron. Don't mix the two up." She shook her head before shifting so that she was sitting behind him, her back against his. "I can't leave you when you're like this. So I'll stay here until you're okay." And indeed, she had stayed there for a whole hour, the warmth from her back and her presence doing more to sooth him than he'd ever admit. The tension in his muscles melted away and his raging heartbeat quieted to a rhythmic thump-thump. He never thanked her, but he was aware that she knew he was grateful, because she would always show up when he needed her._

_Even now…_He snorted silently at his last thought. _How stupid. She doesn't remember shit, but she still sticks around_. "Why aren't you fleeing for your life? Aren't you afraid? I just fucking strangled you. I could have easily snapped your neck." As if to demonstrate, he wrapped his fingers around her throat once more, red clashing against blue as he searched for the tiniest hint of fear.

Luna winced when his fingers pressed into her already injured neck. His grip wasn't very tight, but nonetheless, she hesitated before replying, "I am afraid. But at the same time, I'm not." She gave a small laugh at that before lapsing into a coughing fit. Once she recovered, Luna continued, "But you didn't; snap my neck I mean…" She shot him a warm smile after that, a smile she didn't think she'd ever show to him. I mean honestly? He had a point, she didn't enjoy the fact that he had nearly killed her, nor did she enjoy his treatment of her. But he had those moments that made her doubt he was such a horrible person, moments that made him seem more human.

Her smile caught him off guard, though outwardly, it didn't show. Xanxus let his hand drop from her throat and he made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. He hadn't seen her smile like that for, well… eight years. Not just that, but the words she spoke baffled him. _She has a screw loose._ He concluded. Then again, everyone in the Varia did… No surprise there… _Che…She's as confusing as ever. _Feeling the bed shift, he left his thought dangling there and turned his attention to the movement in his periphery.

Getting off his bed, the whitenette walked over to the connector door before pausing and turning back to him. "Go take a shower, or at least wipe the sweat off. …And Bel rendered the hotel restaurant staffless… So I don't know where you'll eat breakfast…" She said softly.

A tick mark appeared on the Varia Boss' forehead at this and he grumbled under his breath, "Useless trash…"

* * *

_Two Days Later…_

Seriously, what was going on lately? First Lussuria had ended up in the hospital, and then Levi had returned with numerous wounds. Just where were they going at nighttime? As she thought about it, Luna absently poked at her now darkened bruises. It was a bad habit she seemed to have, but wasn't about to fix… _I'm glad I can talk painlessly now…_ She mused with memories of the last the days playing in her mind. Anyways… She knew they were here with the goal of eliminating a group of people, but she didn't see why she was even here if all she was allowed to do was wander around hotel. Squalo had ensured she wasn't able to contact her mother, still stuck on the idea that she was from an enemy Famiglia, there was a freaking guard outside her door that seemed to have his ear pressed to it every time she looked out of the peephole, and Xanxus wouldn't let her out of the hotel, probably thinking she'd run or something.

Today however, she was dead set on making him give her permission. Marching into his room, she opened her mouth, an entire speech at the tip of her tongue, but she only managed to get out his name before her eyes fell on his half naked figure. "Xanxus –!" Forgetting everything she had intended on saying, Luna stood rooted to the spot, caught off guard by how perfect his body was. Toned muscles rippled along his arms and back, and – dear lord – those abs… It didn't matter that there were scars lacing his torso and back, they just served to make him look more attractive, and dangerous… Incredibly dangerous.

The man in question turned when he heard his name, and upon seeing her reaction, smirked, absolutely shameless of his body. "Like what you see brat?" He mocked as he came to stand right in front of her. A light blush dusted her cheeks and the sky hued girl took an involuntary step backwards. Tearing her gaze away from his chest and abs, Luna forced herself to meet his eyes. "…" She wasn't about to admit anything. Clearing her throat lightly, she continued off where she had left off earlier. "I want to go out today. If you say no one more time, I swear I'll just climb out the window."

His eyes narrowed at that as he loomed over her, "Oh? Just try it." Luna blinked. "Alright then." Stepping to the side, she opened his window and swung one leg over and out, finding purchase on the ledge, and was about to ease herself completely out when she felt a hand on the back of her collar, jerking her back in. Coughing slightly when it momentarily cut off her air supply, she furrowed her browns and frowned. Looking up, she was met with an intense red glare. "Then come with me. That way, you have nothing to worry about."

"What makes you think I have any notion of wasting time with you?" He sneered down at her.

"There's just no pleasing you is there…" She grumbled and shot him an equally intense glare. "Then I can take a guard with me. Hell, I'll take as many guards as you want me to, just let me leave the hotel for the day."

Her eyes pleaded with him, hoping he'd at least let her go just to get her out of his hair. Staying in near isolation for this long was something she had never had to do before, and it was starting to get to her. Lussuria had engaged with idle chatter with her, even if it was just about the most trivial things, but now that he was gone, what was she supposed to do, talk to herself? Bel occasionally made her play chess with him because he was bored, though he usually won despite a few close calls… Lately he hadn't because he complained she was too easy to beat. _It's like those near draws or near wins in my favour never happened._ She huffed silently.

"…No. I know that you can get rid of guards easily, just like how you did that one stationed outside your door." Luna smiled sheepishly at that, and innocently shrugged. "I felt bad for him so I just gave him the tiniest push towards a better future."

"Whatever." _She always has to get involved with other people's business…_ He was no different…

_"Freak! Go away, we don't want you here!" The boys from the community stood a good distance away, all armed with sticks and rocks, most of them throwing them at a young boy with blood red eyes, no older than ten. Trash… All of them… Gritting his teeth, he opened his mouth to yell at them, but was stopped short when a rock clipped his temple. Xanxus' eyes widened slightly as he felt something warm drip down the side of his face. "You cowards!" He yelled angrily. Flames engulfed his hands and he began to run towards them, wanting nothing more than to crack their skulls open and watch the life slowly leave their terror filled eyes._

_"Wah! Run!" The boys took off, all the while throwing rocks at him. Unbeknownst to the brunette, the group had set traps before, and as they ran, they set them off. The nets and rope traps were easily burned through, but when sharpened branches came flying towards him from all directions, the boy had no way of defending himself against all of them. Eyes widened as their piercing tips closed in on him. Dammit, dammit! Squeezing his eyes shut and throwing up his hands to protect himself, his body prepared to be brutally stabbed, but the pain never came. _

_Instead, he felt a cool breeze caress his cheek, uncharacteristic of the hot summer day, and then came terrified shouts. "It's the ice witch!" The air got colder and colder until it felt as if frost were forming on his skin. Daring to open an eye, Xanxus found himself staring in awe at the multiple icicles surrounding him, each starting from the ground and ending on a spike, freezing them in place just inches away from him. Looking past them he watched in fascination as the group of boys slowly began to freeze, all the while screaming and begging, but to no avail. A soft, but cold voice drifted to his ears and a familiar figured appeared in his periphery. "If you want to take the life of another, you should always be prepared to lose your own life in the process…" She looked at them with undisguised anger, but her voice held no emotion. _

_"Please! Plea-!" The boy never finished his words as the ice finished its entrapment of him, his face forever a mask of fear. His companions wore identical expressions, and Luna gave a small shake of her head before turning to Xanxus. "Are you okay?" She frowned when her gaze fell on the blood running down his face and reached out towards him. Xanxus' eyes narrowed and he slapped her hand away. "I was doing fine by myself." He retorted and turned away, using his Flame of Wrath to melt an exit through the ice before walking off._

_To that, Luna merely smiled and shrugged, as she followed close behind, "Yeah, I know… I just got angry and interfered. Sorry Xanxus." He turned on her, thinking that she was mocking him, but upon seeing the sincerity in her eyes, realized that she was serious. "You… Got angry? Over what? Something as stupid as them calling you 'ice witch'?" He scoffed and continued walking._

_"No… I was mad that they called you a freak and threw rocks at you…" She murmured._

_"So you pity me?" He hissed. _

_"No! I thought we were friends… Don't friends look out for each other? That no matter what, we'll always have each other?" _

_The boy involuntarily blushed at the implications before retorting, "I never agreed to being your friend. And… That's not a friend you're talking about anymore." _

_"Eh? Why not? How so?" She asked, suddenly confused._

_"Because friends won't always have each other. They might fight and not be friends anymore. Friendship never lasts forever."_

_"Then… what kind of bond has it so we'll always be together?" _

_Xanxus turned a bit red again and scoffed, "That's marriage."_

_"…Oh…" Luna suddenly seemed to understand and laughed awkwardly. "Well… I'll stick with you, but I'm not gonna marry you." She wrinkled her nose at the thought, still in the age where marriage seemed strange and boys were… well… stupid._

_"Like I'd want to marry you," He muttered in return. "And I'm still not gonna be your friend."_

_The two glared at each other before he turned away and smirked while Luna giggled softly, "We'll see."_

"Xanxus?" Luna waved a hand in front of his face and he blinked as he was jolted from his thoughts. "Tch… What." He leaned back before swatting her hand away. However, the darkened bruise didn't pass by unnoticed, though he didn't comment. Tilting her head curiously at him, she sighed, "No, never mind."

"…If you've got something to say, say it."

Luna fiddled with the ends of her hair, causing Xanxus' attention to drift to her fingers. _She always does that when she's shy or hiding something._ "Out with it woman."

Truthfully, Luna had repeated her question twice already, but both times the male before her seemed to be lost in his thoughts or something as he didn't respond until she waved her hand in front of his face. "So… Can I go out today?" She asked for a third and final time.

At that, Xanxus' frown deepened before he muttered something in audible and held his hand out, palm up as if to ask her to give him something. "Huh…?" Looking at him in confusion, Luna wasn't sure what he wanted from her.

"Your hand woman," He growled.

"Oh." Putting her hand atop his, he practically glared daggers at her bruise before muttering, "The other one."

"Eh…?" Sighing, she switched hands so her right was placed in his. Before she even had a chance to ask what the point of this was, he had snapped something cold and metallic onto her wrist, and whatever it was, made a small beeping sound. _Huh?_ Bringing said hand up for a closer inspection, she found that it was an electronic device of some sort. _Tracking device…?_ _Then what was up with the hand switching thing-y? _ Glancing at her hands, his words from just seconds ago came back to her and she smiled a bit. _He's a weird guy…_

"Take the shitty shark with you." With that, the Varia Boss turned his back to her and went straight to the en suite bar to pour himself something to drink. That was her cue to get out before he changed his mind, though she did chime a grateful goodbye before exiting through his door. Luna's room was left of Xanxus' and to the right of the Sky Guardian's room was Squalo's. As the Varia had reserved the entire floor for their use, none felt the need to lock their doors, save for herself. So it wasn't a surprise that she could just turn the handle and waltz inside.

"VOII! What the fuck woman?! Do you think you can just-!" He had been sharpening his sword when she walked in and as he whipped around to face her, his eyes immediately went to the two bruises. They stood out in stark contrast to the rest of her skin, purplish-black against a cream white. The past few days he hadn't seen her around at all, and now that he finally has, she looks like this… _Was that Boss' doing?_ He wondered silently.

Luna tilted her head a bit as if to ask him why he suddenly just stopped mid-sentence until she realized where he was looking. Laughing warmly, she smiled at him, "Are you worried? That's sweet of you Squalo, grazie."

This snapped him out of it and a tick mark appeared on his forehead, "What the fuck are you spewing?!" He angrily waved his sword at her before scoffing, "Who would worry about you?" Grumbling something under his breath, he stayed like that for a few minutes before letting out an exaggerated sigh and standing up to fully face her. "Just spill it. What do you want?"

"I want you to accompany me around Namimori." She hummed before walking past him. Making her way to his bed, she kneeled down to get a better look at the sword he was performing maintenance on and let out a soft whistle. _Impressive…_ Behind her, she could distantly hear Squalo asking – though it was really more like yelling – why he would want to waste his time doing something as stupid as that.

Straightening, she turned to face him and smiled angelically, a smile which, coincidentally, Squalo had seen one too many times. They usually appeared before Luna did something horrible, like shooting that man in the heart at the university (though one could argue that was involuntary), or in cases where he was involved, drag him along to satisfy her whims. Instinctively he began to back up, his mind plotting out escape routes and tactics. Unfortunately, her next words made all the blood drain from his face. "Because Xanxus said so."

_Xanxus… said so? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE THINKING?! _He glared at her incredulously as she continued to approach him. "He already put a tracker on me it seems…" She said holding up her wrist, "But he still wants someone to accompany me. And I quote," As she said this, Luna did air quotations with her fingers, " 'Take the shitty shark with you.' Unquote."

Squalo twitched angrily at that before hollering a second later, "VOIIIIII WHAT THE HELL? WHY ME OF ALL PEOPLE?!" To that, Luna shrugged with pseudo-sympathy, though her smile was genuine, and grabbed his arm to drag him out. "I want to try sushi. But since it's not lunch yet, I wanna go see some temples and shop for a bit~" She said excitedly.

Caught up in her pace for a moment, Squalo couldn't help but see a former Luna superimposed upon the amnesic one. _She always has such ostentatious displays of awe and wonder over the most trivial and mundane things…_ "Jesus… Fine fine I get it," He replied gruffly, knowing he didn't have a say in the matter. "But let go of my arm."

The whitenette looked from him to their linked arms (or more like her arms wrapped around his) and then back up at his face before deadpanning, "No."

"NO?!"

"I'll get lost. I've never been to Japan before…"

"…" He had forgotten that she didn't remember her way around Namimori, not having applied her amnesia to every aspect of her life.

"Tch…" Leaving his arm in her grasp, he took the lead and begrudgingly brought Luna to the places she wanted to go, though some places they went to had him making snide comments. Even then she would just smile or laugh and continue to look through the store, unaffected by his words.

Her smile and laughter were near infectious and before Squalo knew it, he had fallen back into his familiar rhythm with her, a faint smirk on his face, almost forgetting what she had done…

* * *

R&R~


	8. A Brief Reunion

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Skyla15699: Thankies! ^^ ahahahaha yes~ 3

shanagi95: Eh really? =D I'll see if I can, but they probably will only have a few brief scenes together loll ;u;

OoBlueIceRinkoO: =O you think so? I never really considered that… hm… x

BlueMoon12345678: Yes! 8DDD hurhurhur

* * *

**Chapter Eight: A Brief Reunion**

_Odd…_ For some reason Xanxus looked extremely smug today. Luna was pretty sure she wasn't imagining it either. For one, he wasn't killing as many servants as usual, but maybe it was just her… Letting out a soft sigh, the whitenette thought about all the empty seats at breakfast this morning. Bel had returned as a mummy all wrapped up in bandages, and the night after that Squalo had completely disappeared without a trace. When she asked Xanxus, he sneered and said something about the Varia Captain becoming fish food… The thought was unsettling to say the least, but even she knew better than to delve deeper when she saw Xanxus' expression. Then Mammon had disappeared, or more like fled… Which prompted the brunette to send the weird robot guy after the baby. _Guess whoever they came to eliminate proved more of a challenge than they would have thought…_

Last night the robot guy didn't return either, and that was when Xanxus starting grinning like an insane person. Lifting her gaze to peer at said man, he was drinking some sort of alcohol and looking incredibly pleased with himself. "Xanxus… Why are you so happy?" _Your entire team of officers is injured, dead, or missing…_ But then again, from what she had seen, the Varia members cared little for each other, all of them following the Sky Guardian because he was strong, not because they shared some sort of camaraderie.

It seemed he was in enough of a good mood to even answer her question. "Because I'm finally going to take what's fucking mine." He said smirking. _Does he mean the rings?_ Glancing down to his hand, she wondered why it was so important to have the ring completed. Unless... Was it to show that he was the true heir of something? Lussuria had talked about them being some form of inheritance… But since they weren't complete... Was there a battle over who would be in charge? _Makes sense… I guess?_

With a nearly inaudible sigh, Luna rose and nodded. "Well, good luck then," She said with a warm smile. The amnesic was already anticipating his next words before they spilled from his lips. "Che, as if I need luck." Leaning back in his seat, the Varia boss finished the contents of his glass, propped his cheek up against his hand, and let his eyes close as he prepared to compensate for his lack of shut eye from the night before.

"It can't hurt though," She replied with a ghost of a smile dancing on her lips. Sky hues slid over to an ancient grandfather clock nestled away in the far corner of the room and wondered if she'd be allowed to go seeing as the brunette was planning on sleeping. "Xanxus…"

Crimson orbs opened and flickered up to her face in response as he waited for her to continue. "You don't need anything do you?" She rose from her seat as she spoke, and upon seeing him close his eyes again disinterestedly, she took that as a no. Tiptoeing from the room, Luna silently shut the door behind her, turned around, and ran smack into a tiara wearing mummy. "Omph." Taking an instinctive step back, she looked up to see a familiar mop of blonde hair and a Cheshire-like smile stretched across the mummy's face.

"Ushishishi… How dare the peasant touch the Prince." Before she knew it, a knife was pressed into her cheek, and another at the base of her throat. "Bel… Shouldn't you be resting?"

"The Prince doesn't take orders from you." He sneered. "I'm bored, and you will entertain me."

_Spoiled… They're all spoiled…_ She thought with a slight twitch of her eye. "…Chess…?"

"…No. The peasant is too easy to beat. I propose a game of cat and mouse. If the peasant somehow wins, you'll be promoted to merchant. If you lose, then I'll take your head as a trophy. Shishishi…"

_Well… That escalated quickly…_ She thought with a groan. How the hell was she supposed to win anyways? "How will we know who the winner is?"

"When your head is no longer attached to your neck of course!"

"…How will we know if I win?"

"…"

_Clearly he's not even entertaining the possibility that I win…_ "Bel…"

"… If the peasant can steal the Prince's crown."

"And if I say no?"

"Then I'll carve a pretty red smile into you right now."

_He doesn't leave a lot of room for negotiation does he… _"…I get a head start then…" Placing a hand on his chest, Luna pushed the crazy Prince away from her and once his knives were no longer near her, she bolted down the hall, making sure not to run straight but rather in a zigzag. Thank god she did because the moment she was two meters from him, knives came whizzing down the hall. _Holy mother of god!_ Trying to make herself a smaller target, it was mostly successful as the majority of the knives sailed either uncomfortably close to her or just missed her in general. However, one managed to slice deeply into her right thigh, eliciting a pained yelp from the whitenette and nearly causing her leg to give out. As she reached the end of the hall, Luna hastily swung herself around the corner, into the stairwell and literally leapt down the flights of stairs, gritting her teeth every time she landed on her right foot.

_I swear… One of these days…_Finally on the ground floor, Luna pushed the side door open and stumbled outside, hoping to find something she could use to defend herself. As luck would have it, there was only a stupid garden in the back of the hotel, coupled with a magnificent fountain in the middle. _Of course… What was I expecting?_ _An armory?_ She thought in exasperation.

"Ushishi, did the peasant think she could escape?"

Turning in surprise, she fell back just in time as two knives sliced through the air a hair's breath away from her head. Rolling immediately to the side, she ran towards the fountain, hoping it would serve as some sort of shelter from his barrage. The pain in her leg protested against her actions, and as much as she tried to ignore it, both parties knew it was slowing her down, one of which used it to his advantage.

Pain blossomed through that leg when another knife sunk into the back of her calf, effectively bringing her to the ground. _Ow ow ow…_ Biting her lip, Luna reached behind her and yanked the knife out with shaking hands, a small gasp leaving her lips as she did. Almost simultaneously, three more embedded themselves into her back, and she felt her mind go blank with pain as she crumpled to the ground. Warm liquid was soaking into her clothes, and with every beat of her heart, the stain grew larger.

The prospect of death suddenly became very real to her, and it was oddly frightening. _I don't… want to die… Not like this…_Darkness began converging from the edges of her vision, and from her position on the ground Luna was aware of someone approaching her, a familiar laugh echoing through her slipping consciousness. _This is so unfair…_ She thought as darkness finally consumed her.

* * *

"Ushishi… Looks like the Prince has won peasant…" The grin on his face widened as he raised his knives.

"…"

"…Eh?" A chill enveloped his body, and looking down, Bel realized that he was completely encased in ice – save his head. What surprised him more was the sound of his knives shattering and the body on the ground picking itself up in a languid manner, all the wounds he had inflicted were now frozen over.

"Bel… That wasn't nice at all." A pair of calm, ice blue hues lazily rose to meet his gaze, and small, coy smile danced on her lips.

"…Luna…?" Gazing at the person in front of him in disbelief, he could only watch and wait as she approached him. "Who else would I be silly?" Reaching out, she plucked the crown from his head and dropped it onto her own. "Looks like I win~"

"But… how? Were you just pretending?" The thought that they had been played again made his blood boil, and his voice held more malice than his usual cynical jest.

"Pretending? No. Thanks to you scaring my poor amnesic self senseless, I somehow ended up here. She – or I suppose _I_ – thought that I was really going to die, resulting in," She said gesturing to herself, "Moi I suppose. But don't get your hopes up Bel, because once I knock some sense into you, I get the feeling I'll have to leave again."

"What? Why? Boss has questions for you. We all do."

"You fucking got that right." A voice from behind them growled. The cocking of a gun followed, and Luna let out a small laugh, vaulting herself off of a frozen Bel a split second before a fireball scorched the place she was just standing. Aka, where Bel was.

"Ah… So mean Xan… And he was just recovering too…"

"Shut it woman." He prepared to fire again as Luna landed in front of him, his gun pressing against her heart.

"Xan… I'm glad you're okay." She said softly, her voice carrying that warm tone she always used with him. But right now he was angry. Angry that she could just stand here calmly when he had been frozen for eight years, and angry that she had been the one to do it to him. "Like fuck you are. You're the one who's responsible for what happened in the first place." He seethed.

She blinked at that, "Yes. And if you can't figure out why I did what I did, then you don't have a right to call yourself 'Boss'" She said crossing her arms and staring unwaveringly into his crimson orbs.

"You…" Narrowing his eyes, he made an irritated noise. "Don't test my patience." Searching her steel blue hues for something and finding it not long after, he che'd, grabbed her collar, and yanked her forward before leaning in. After a split second's hesitation, he spoke lowly so only she could hear. "Because you knew I'd be able to escape. That whatever the old man was planning to do I wouldn't be able to, so you interfered." Though his voice was sure of himself, the doubt was still there. He had always doubted, and he wanted her to melt away that feeling of being betrayed. The hand that wasn't pressing the gun into her was wrapped around her arm in a bruising grip as he waited for her response.

But… He didn't get one. Instead, he felt a light, cool pair of lips on his cheek, making him jerk back and whip his head around to glare at her, "What the fuck was–" He forgot the rest of his words, and his grip slackened when he saw her expression. She was relieved, happy, sorry, guilty, and completely unguarded, everything she wanted to tell him showing blatantly on her face. "So you did understand me." She said with a smile. Just that simple line made the suffocating claw around his heart disappear and let him breathe again.

The cold began to ebb away once more, and with it, Luna's consciousness. The whitnette frowned, a spark of annoyance and confusion flashing across them before Luna's eyes began to droop, as if she were about to fall asleep. "I think… have to go…" She mumbled, struggling to articulate her words. "No." He practically snarled. He gave her a rough shake, feeling his irritation bubble up again. "You still have a fucking lot to answer for."

"Sadly… It's not your call… nor…mine…" She said blearily, "But I … feel… that…" Swaying on the spot, Luna toppled over, her last words barely audible as Xanxus' grip tightened around her so she wouldn't fall. _I won't be able to see you for a while…_

_What…?_ His brow furrowed at that and his frown deepened, but he said nothing. Instead, he glared at her unconscious form, as if that would force her to wake up again. Soon, he became aware of warm, coppery liquid seeping from her wounds and coating his hands, no longer being stopped by the ice. "Tch…" After a moment's consideration, he scowled and threw her over his shoulder. From an onlooker's view, it looked like he had been rough and uncaring about his treatment with her, but Xanxus had been far more gentle than one would expect, carefully holding her as if she were glass so not to aggravate her wounds any further. Marching inside, he didn't spare his charred storm guardian another glance as he spoke. "Get the fuck up trash."

* * *

"Mmm…" Slowly opening her eyes, Luna glanced around in a dazed manner, not knowing where she was. The lighting was dim, making it harder to distinguish shapes and the layout of the room. Trying to sit up, she let out a groan when her body protested in pain and relaxed again, perfectly fine with staying immobile. As she lay there, memories from this afternoon came back piece by piece, and she wondered why she wasn't dead. The possibility of being dead had already crossed her mind upon first waking up, but when pain registered, she figured she'd have to be alive to have felt it. Why hadn't Bel killed her? Last thing she remembered was him standing over her with his knives… _Whatever the reason, I'm grateful…_

_Now then…how bad is it…?_ Moving her arms experimentally, she winced a bit when it strained the muscles in her shoulder and back, tugging at the recently sewn stitches. _Not too good. _Absently, the whitnette's fingers played with the blankets and she realized that she was most likely in her hotel room. The bed felt familiar, and the poufy blankets only added to that feeling. Well, it was either that or she was in an identical room… Carefully, so as not to strain the sutures, she reached to her right and felt around a bit before her hand touched the cool metal of the bedside lamp.

Blinking a bit to adjust to the sudden light illuminating the room, blue hues came to rest on familiar objects, her suitcase and her rapiers being some of them. What wasn't familiar, were two masked females standing in the corner, and when she saw them, her heart jumped in her chest. _When did they get here? How did they get here?_ They definitely hadn't been there a second ago… Staring suspiciously at them, Luna wondered if the lamp would make an adequate weapon…

"Luna Cross. Your presence is required at the Ring Battles."

"We are here to escort you." Both spoke in the same voice and in perfect sync that it was someone scary.

But… "The what?" Staring owlishly at them, she had absolutely no idea what they were going on about. However, it was as if they had been expecting that. "We will explain along the way."

"Please get ready." At their one track mindedness, Luna frowned, "I have no reason to trust you…" Easing herself up into a sitting position, she was tense, not liking how persistent they seemed to be.

The two women shared a look before they practically pounced on her. "Please forgive our rudeness."

"However, it is necessary you come with us."

Her eyes widened, and Luna barely had a chance to move when she felt weight on her legs and arms and then a cloth being pressed to her mouth and nose. A sickly sweet smell filled her nose, and she accidently gasped, her lungs trying to dispel the smell only to breathe more of it in. Struggling was futile, and soon, she slipped back into darkness' waiting arms.

* * *

"It's over…" A relieved and tired sigh escaped from a battered brunette, his spiky hair seemingly defying gravity.

On the ground not far from him, Xanxus lay, blood seeping from his numerous wounds and his body injured internally from the rejection of the sky ring. "Che…" Gritting his teeth, his wrath boiled endlessly, but even he knew when he had lost.

"For the normal guardians it is over."

"However, there is a final battle."

From the smoke, the two Cervello appeared once more, having temporarily disappeared just moments before. One carried an unconscious girl while the other was accompanied by a brunette with a hideously disfigured face. The burns had twisted her face beyond recognition and extended down the right side of her body. Despit her injuries, her eyes burned with determination and hate.

"VOIIII WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU BITCHES THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Squalo hollered from his wheelchair. "She's no guardian!"

"Eh?" The group of children seemed surprised too, and the baby tilted his fedora down to cover his eyes so the slight confusion he felt wouldn't be seen.

"What is the meaning of this Cervello?" He asked in his baby voice. "There are only seven rings…"

"Arcobaleno, there are only seven rings for the guardians. However, there is one more ring for the Vongola. The bearer is the shield of the Vongola, not as a guardian to the boss, but rather to the ideals of Vongola Primo and to the family as a whole. They are the snow who freezes all that wish harm."

"Unlike the others, they stand alone and are not informed of anything until the moment of their candidacy. They must remain detached from all forms of bias and act in the best interest of the Vongola… Any internal strife will be taken care of by them, be it a coup d'état like the Cradle Affair, or even if the problem is the Vongola Boss himself."

The Cervello who wasn't carrying Luna procured a box and opened it. Inside, much like the sky ring was one of identical shape and size, the only difference being the stone and material. The stone was crystal clear and reflected different shades of light blue which gave it an ice like appearance. The band of the ring was made from a white gold and platinum alloy.

"The snow guardian's match will consist of two parts and the field will be the Vongola's Death Mountain."

As they said this, four helicopters descended to transport everyone there. Once everyone was inside, they took off towards the final field.

* * *

R&R~

A/N: bah… not the best place to end it… I know ;u;

I think that until summer vacation, I'll probably only get to update once a week… Especially since it's near exams now = teachers decide: LET US LOAD ON THE HOMEWORK.


	9. Snow Guardian's Match: Part I

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Skyla15699: Yuss *u* Thank you so much! ^^ I'll work hard~ 83

shanagi95: ahahah don't worry, it'll be explained later~ How much later… I don't know at the moment X'D

KHRLover1997: Thank you o/u/o

BabyShinji: Ahaha I'm not sure either… I thought that they were pretty similar since they're still the same person, but the one in the past is much more… confident and kick-ass-y (for obvious reasons) compared to the clueless present one X'D

And yeah… I took a little too (?) long to reveal her place in the story I think… ;n;

Thank you~ ^^

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Snow Guardian's Match: Part I**

"Nngh…" A pair of sky blue hues slowly fluttered open, her head feeling like a balloon as residual chloroform lingered in her body. Disoriented, she was aware of was that something was loud… It kinda sounded like the blades of a helicopter… How weird… and that whatever she was laying on was being kind of jolty and constantly moving. Lolling her head to the side, she found herself staring at a mummy sitting in a wheelchair, long silver hair framing a scowling face. There was no recognition in her eyes for a good five minutes, and with every passing moment, the man's scowl deepened, until finally, "VOIII STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM BRAT!"

That voice really woke her up, and blinking a few more times to clear her vision, Luna raised her head a bit more to get a better view of the Varia Captain. "Oh! Squalo, you're alive!" She said with a relieved smile. She let out a small giggle before letting her head drop back onto whatever it was she was resting on, her eyes becoming unfocussed again. _And Xanxus said he was fish food… Liar…_ Her thoughts were disconnected and constantly floated around, her mind still feeling the effects of the chemical.

Somewhere in Squalo's general direction, she could hear the man speak in a lower voice to someone, "Bitch, what did you give her?!"

"Chloroform." Was the answer. What was surprising though, was that the answer had come from a voice above her. Tipping her head the other way and up, the whitenette came face to face with one of the masked ladies who had abducted her earlier, and she frowned. "It's you again…" She muttered unhappily. The woman nodded as she procured a bottle of smelling salts from who knows where. "Please inhale, this will help disperse the effects of the chloroform."

Luna's frown deepened and she turned her head away, "Like I'm gonna trust you after that…" She scoffed.

"… Your opponent is already in optimal condition. It would be in your best interest to be the same."

"Opponent?" Confusion settled on her brow and she slid her gaze back to Squalo, as if to ask what-the-hell-is-she-saying? However, he didn't answer and merely grumbled, "It's safe."

With a sigh of resignation, she turned her head back towards the pink haired lady and acquiescently breathed in the mixture. "Ugh…" The smell wasn't pleasant to say the least, but it did its job well. Within moments the haze around her mind had lifted and she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing slightly as she was reminded of where her wounds were. Once she was in a comfortable position, the amnesic looked around and noted that half the Varia was here, and that they really were in a helicopter.

Her eye twitched slightly at this, irritated that she had no idea what was going on… again. Turning to the masked lady, she was about to open her mouth to ask when the woman spoke, as if she had read her mind. "You are one of the candidates for the position of the snow guardian. We are on our way to the field as we speak."

_The what…?_ "…I have no idea what you're even going on about…" She said slowly. But looking at the faces of the Varia, it seemed they did.

"It's a ring battle. I'm sure you're aware that your… companions have been stepping out each night?"

Luna nodded at that and the pieces began to click in place. "But… I have no ring…"

"That's because the snow guardian is a position that hasn't been filled for nearly nine generations after Vongola Primo. It is only brought out when two individuals fulfill the requirements to become a candidate."

"…And those requirements are…?"

"You must have lost something, and you must be able to wield the ice flame. If one does not fulfill both requirements, the ring will automatically reject them."

_Flames? What the heck are flames? What's an ice flame?_ Her mind was reeling at what was being told to her when something sparked in her memory. The sight of Xanxus firing fireballs… At that, her gaze flitted over to said man who, until that point in time, she hadn't noticed was bandaged up. "So flames… Like Xanxus' fireballs…?" She mumbled tentatively and looked back to the pink haired lady.

"Yes. Or more specifically, his flame of wrath."

"Huh?" _Flame of wrath now?_ Her mind was starting to spin. _How many different kinds of flames are there?_

Squalo made an irritated noise. "This is stupid, she doesn't know anything Cervello! How do you expect her to even participate?!"

"Superbi Squalo, we already explained before."

"Yeah, but-"

"Then there is no problem." She said cutting him off.

"…Bitch." He snarled angrily. Turning his attention to Luna, he pointed his sword at her, "Listen up woman, you just need to lose it and get angry! Then after you do, freeze hell over and beat the fucking shit out of that other bitch!"

"…Uh… But what about the ice flame part…" She said hesitantly. "How do I freeze things…?"

It was then that Xanxus interjected. "You just do woman. Don't think about it, do what feels natural." He growled.

Surprisingly, that seemed to sit the best with her, though she couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that it had been Xanxus who had given her that piece of advice.

The Cervello beside her nodded and handed Luna her two rapiers. "We should be arriving soon. There are two parts to this battle. The first is a trek to the top of the mountain. Along the way will be obstacles that you would have to face as the snow guardian: telling deceit from truth as well as battles with people we have chosen. The second part, should both candidates make it to the top, is a death match. There only can be one guardian, and you must show your resolve to the Vongola."

The idea of killing another human being sent shivers down her spine, but at the same time, Luna was well aware that she was more than capable of doing so. Shooting that man at the university had shown her that. "Alright…"

"The first part of the trial has a twenty-four hour time limit. However, the moment one candidate reaches the summit, the other will only have three hours to do the same. The second can and will take as long as it needs to." Luna nodded again, her mind doing its best to calm her erratic heartbeat and frazzled nerves. She wasn't expecting to be involved in this when she came to Japan. Hell, a few weeks ago she never would have expected to be involved in the Mafia period. As they began to descend, she took deep breaths and strapped the rapiers to her waist. Doing as much as she could to busy herself so she wouldn't have time to dwell on what was to come, the whitenette began to braid her hair, assuming she wouldn't want it to get in her way and slow her down.

The landed relatively smoothly and upon getting out, Luna found herself facing a group of children. _Is my opponent one of them?_ She thought in horror. She was fine with going up against an adult, but these boys had barely gone through puberty… "Not them. Her." Squalo said as he was wheeled up beside her. He was pointing to someone set apart from any group and standing alone in the background. Gazing over to the person he was pointing at, Luna was startled by her appearance, but quickly masked it under a neutral expression. Soon, the two candidates were coolly regarding one another, both only learning of their role just moments earlier.

The woman in front of her looked no older than thirty, but the scars that disfigured her face and right half of her body made it hard to tell. Even then, it wasn't the scars that drew her attention, it was her eyes. They emanated such a strong hatred that Luna couldn't help but see a bit of Xanxus in her. The scars, the intense gaze that seemed to dominate all… Sliding her gaze away from the woman's eyes and over the rest of her. She noted this woman had probably served in the army at some point; toned arms and legs, a dog tag hanging from her neck, cargo pants, combat boots, a tank top, and short spiky brown hair to top it all off. From her belt hung a hunting knife and on the other side was a gun.

_This just keeps getting better huh…_ She thought. Luna was pretty sure she'd be outmatched by strength and experience if the brunette's appearance was any indication. _Well… There's no point in staring at her then…_ Turning her attention to the mountain before them, she frowned. It was hard enough trekking through a mountain in the day, but at one am in the morning? Now that was a whole different level of hard.

From her periphery, she noted that one of the Cervello had come up beside her. "Luna Cross, if you'll follow me. Spectators are to go to the spectator box located at the top of the mountain. There will be screens provided for viewing the progression of the match."

Nodding, she followed after the pink haired lady, slightly nervous now that it was actually happening. "Cervello… Is there any way to forfeit?" Luna asked hesitantly. She didn't even want to be a part of this, and if she was going to be forced, she was not going to be happy.

At first, the woman remained silent, and it wasn't until they reached the whitenette's starting point did she finally respond. "No. The snow guardian's candidacy was decided the moment you inherited the flame of ice. You can only move forward and do your best to win. Should you try to disqualify yourself by staying in one spot and waiting out the duration of the test, be warned. After the time limit is up, we will release a pack of beasts."

A tick mark appeared on her forehead at that, though she refrained from saying anything else. "Fine…" She mumbled.

"Good. On the beep you may begin."

_Beep?_ Not a moment later, a horn blared through the area, making Luna instinctively cover her ears. _WHAT KIND OF BEEP WAS THAT?! _Groaning, she started forward into the forest of trees, slightly dreading what was to come.

Quite literally, Luna was squinting and walking with her hands out in front of her, the moonlight doing a poor job of illuminating her surroundings. Around her she was aware of rustling, whether it be leaves, insects, or something bigger, Luna was unable to tell.

_I think I'm about as loud and as graceful as an elephant right about now…_ She thought as she stumbled over the umpteenth tree root. Moving forward at an even slower pace now, she had just reached a denser area of trees when a low growl reached her ears. Oh, scratch that… a crap load of low growls and snarls. _Did I just step into wolf territory…?_ She thought as her heart hammered loudly against her chest. Biting her lower lip, she took a slow step backwards and as silently as she could, drew both rapiers. She was aware that the close proximity of branches and tree trunks would impede her movements, but if they attacked, she'd at least be able to defend herself…maybe. Taking another step backwards, she heard a twig snap to her left and whipped around in time to see a blur of black fly towards her, white fangs gleaming and claws outstretched with the intent to rip out her throat.

In the same instant, her right rapier shot up in an arc to meet the wolf's attack head-on. The left came up to stop the claws and once the wolf's throat entered her range, one could hear the sound of flesh being slashed through before a gurgle and the thump of a body hitting the ground followed. There really was no time to think after that. The moment one of their own had fallen, the rest attacked her in a frenzy. Fur, yelps, howls, claws, teeth, and blood… That's all that was registering to Luna's mind, and her body reacted accordingly, lashing out whenever something came too close. More than once she had a close call, a swipe aimed at her throat landing on her arms instead when she twisted out of the way a split second too late, the feeling of teeth sinking into her calf and claws scrabbling at her legs to bring her down… Metal tore through flesh and bone, and the feeling of warm blood splashing against her face and hands told her she had hit her target.

Panting, Luna turned her head from side to side, trying to gauge how many remained, her body was tense and guarded, and with various areas throbbing painfully, she hoped this would end soon. It wasn't until she noticed it was deadly quiet did she begin to feel even more on edge. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as a feeling of dread settled over her. Before she had even heard it, Luna had already taken off, flying through the thicket of trees without caring if she was hit by them or not. The scratches she received from them would be nothing compared to the injuries she would have receiving from whatever was coming.

Behind her, she could hear a deep throated growl followed by a full on pursuit of what Luna could only assume was an enormous wolf. "Holy crappppp!" She yelled as she bolted through the trees. _What the hell. What the hell! That thing isn't normal!_ She was aware of trees snapping and splintering behind her, and was suddenly reminded of a movie she had once watched. _It's like Van Helsing…Huh… Whatdya know…_ The thought wasn't comforting though, and if anything, it only served to increase her fear. _I'd rather take on Xanxus than this_… She thought with a slight whimper.

Running for who knows how long, Luna burst through into a clearing and turned around, figuring that if she was ever going to have a chance at winning, it would be in an open space with as much light as she could get.

When the creature emerged, she could only gape at it and back up a few more steps, her blood running cold. To say it was big would be an understatement. It was practically four times her height and a hundred times more pissed off. Its lips were twisted back into a feral snarl and razor sharp canines dripped with saliva. Black fur made it harder to see, and it uttered another growl at her, its hackles raised up as prepared to attack.

At the sight before her, Luna really had no idea what she was supposed to do. Her mind went completely blank at how she was expected to survive through this, and all encompassing fear froze her in place.

_I'm going to die._

That one thought resonated through her entire being, and she could only watch as the wolf drew back and leapt forward towards her at an impossible speed.

_…Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…_

Then, it was like everything was slowing down. Slower and slower… Until it had all just stopped.

_Tick_

Blinking, Luna stared in shock at the sight in front of her. The wolf was suspended in midair, with its claws forever reaching out towards her, but never touching. Not just that, but the meadow had been blanketed in frost. The ground was icy and there was frost on her skin, glittering like a thousand stars in the moonlight. It was odd… She wasn't the least bit cold despite knowing exactly that it was freezing. It was dead silent, the breeze had disappeared, and not a single leaf rustled, nor a blade of grass wavered. Despite it all, an impossible sense of calm settled into her body, freeing her from the fear that had trapped her in place.

"Oh my god…" The knowledge that she was momentarily safe made all the strength drain from her legs, and she fell to the ground and then backwards onto her back with her arms stretched out to either sides of her body. "Aha… hahaha… this is crazy…" Staring up at the sky, she took a few deep breaths before noticing something strange at the zenith.

_Tock_

"…Huh…?" There was the face of a clock and it was slowly ticking away, the parts it had already passed were gone. As it was now, there was half of the clock face left, and Luna realized there was a time limit to whatever this was. _Crap._

Scrambling to her feet, she looked down at her rapiers and then back up to the beast in the air. "How the hell am I supposed to reach it?"

At first she tried throwing her rapiers up at it, or even jumping, but it was painfully obvious that was a waste of time. _This is impossible… Of all the places he had to be frozen, its way up there?!_ Jabbing one of the rapiers into the ground, she made a frustrated noise at the back of her throat and was about to just run off and hope that when everything unfroze, she'd be far enough away when a whisper ghosted through her mind.

_Do what feels natural…_

"…." Furrowing her brows, she hesitated and reluctantly turned her attention back to the beast suspended in time. Taking a few more deep breaths she closed her eyes and willed herself to be able to reach the giant wolf. Instantly, the air in front of her began to crackle and freeze, and a staircase slowly built itself upwards off the ground. Stepping on it, she began to ascend, and about halfway up, she wondered why she wasn't in pain… Looking down at her legs, she made a face upon seeing frozen blood clotting her wounds. _Well… better than nothing…_ It wasn't the most appealing, but hey, if it was keeping her from bleeding to death, then she would gladly accept it.

A couple steps later, another thought came to mind and she suddenly felt like smacking herself. "Why didn't I just freeze the dumb thing?" Grumbling, she sat down and closed her eyes again, envisioning the dog being frozen solid in ice. Just like an ice cube… When she opened them again, she nearly laughed upon seeing a perfectly shaped, frozen cube in front of her, with the enormous would in the middle of it. "I think I'm getting the hang of this…" She hummed softly. Looking back down to the steps she was sitting on, she molded it into a slide so she could get down. Once she reached the bottom, Luna made the ice shatter and disappear, and a moment later, the clock chimed to signal the end of the time freeze.

The beast remained frozen, as did her injuries, much to Luna's relief, but the frost that had covered everything else melted away, as if it was never there, and the only proof that it was being the slightly cooler breeze in the meadow.

"Thank goodness…" She sighed to herself. Starting forward again, she stifled a yawn and slapped her cheeks to keep herself awake. Leaving the clearing, she found that it was suddenly a bit easier to navigate, as if the moisture in the air and frost on her skin were acting as guides and telling her where to step and when to duck.

* * *

"Wahhhh!"

_Eh?!_ Taken aback at the sudden sound, Luna found herself looking at a small boy clinging to a tree branch, several scrapes and bruises littered over his body. "Help me! Please, someone!" He sniffled and wailed louder and louder. _He's…_ There was no way a person would have gotten here by accident… meaning he was an obstacle or trial of some sort. But before that, he was a child… And Luna couldn't find it in her just to turn and walk away. Coming into view, she called up to him. "Hey… how did you get up there?"

"Wah!" Startled, he let out a small shriek before looking at her more carefully. "Are you a fairy?"

"Huh?"

"You're all sparkly…" Tears and distress seemingly forgotten, the little boy peered at her in wonder, having never seen this before.

"Uh… well…" Glancing down at herself, Luna wondered how to explain it was ice… Looking back up at him, she suddenly felt guilty, especially when he was looking at her with those adorable eyes. "Yeah… I guess…?"

Taking a step closer, she continued, "Erm, so how about we get you down from there? I'll catch you okay?" She walked until she was right underneath him.

"Eh? You'll catch me? Actually, it seems more like I caught you~" The boy sang out with a smug grin and tugged on what appeared to be a wire. Luna felt herself being enclosed in something and hauled upwards so that she was at eye level with him and sighed. _I should have guessed…_

"God, they said you might be stupid, but I never expected it to be this easy." He scoffed. His demeanor had completely changed and he crossed his arms, a condescending look in his eyes.

"Well… I'm glad you're not actually lost…" She said with a light laugh. Before she had been contemplating what to do with the boy once she got him down. But know, at least she knew he'd be fine on his own.

The boy looked at her incredulously for a moment before he burst out laughing. "That's priceless! Were you dropped on your head as a baby? You're absolutely retarded! I can't believe you're worrying about that when you ought to worry about being killed by me."

"…So you're going to kill me?" Luna couldn't help but feel calm despite that, since after that monster wolf, nothing seemed to be able to top it. "I don't think a little boy like you should have their hands soaked in blood…" She said softly.

His expression abruptly changed at that, and he glowered at her. "Don't talk like you know anything!" He yelled and pulled out a hunting knife. Standing up on the branch, he walked towards her with a sinister smile on his face, spinning the blade around like it was a toy.

"Stop…" Luna was directing her focus at his feet, and sure enough, ice began to cover them, keeping him in place.

"Wha-?" Turning his attention to the ice, he began to viciously stab at it, but it just formed again and again, until he finally let out a grunt of resignation when it completely encased his legs.

While he had been dealing with his feet, Luna had wrapped pressed her hands onto the net, freezing it. Leaning back, she kicked it until it snapped and crumbled, having been made brittle by the cold. Carefully untangling herself, she dropped to the ground before looking back up to the boy. "Well… I'll see you then. Get home safely." She said with a bright smile and a wave before turning to leave.

"W-wait, you're just gonna leave me here?" His eyes filled with tears as he slipped back into his innocent act. "I'm really sorry about what I did, please don't go!"

"…Yup. You'll be able to break the ice off once I'm long gone, and I'm sure you can defend yourself… And I doubt it. I'm not going to fall for the same act twice, sorry." With that, she turned and marched off without a second glance, no longer feeling the need to worry about that particular boy.

* * *

_Ughh…_After her encounter with that boy, more like it seemed to occur. There were some with riddles for her, and if she didn't answer them, she wasn't allowed to pass. There were those who guarded the pathways and wouldn't move until she figured out which was the liar. Things that were so clichéd appeared, and she felt like this was more of a game than anything. Of course, there were parts where she was reminded it was not. Like when assassins dropped from their hiding places in trees, or sprung out from behind boulders and bushes…

Currently, Luna found herself climbing a steep rock face, having found no way around it. Not only that, but moments before that, the horn had blared again, signaling that the other candidate had already made it to the top, meaning she only had three hours left to get there. "There… has got… to be… an… easier way… to do this!" She gasped as she reached up to grab onto another rock that was jutting out.

Her mind ran through multiple possibilities, but most of them she had no idea if she was even capable of doing. _Argh… Just let me make it to that ledge over there so I can rest for a bit…_ Gritting her teeth, Luna hoisted herself up, and once she made it to the ledge, plopped down on it and leaned back to look up at how much she had left. It was hard to see, but with the moon, it looked like a good hundred metres.

_I wonder…_ Pressing her hands against the rock face, she imagined a ladder. Sure enough, rungs began to form underneath her hands, and she pulled them off the wall so there were rungs that she could wrap her hands around and step up onto. Smiling, she began to climb them, the ones below her disappearing as new ones ahead of her formed.

Eventually making it to the top, she groaned and pulled herself into a sitting position before turning to look down at where she had come up from. _Dang…_ She had to be near the top now… right? Turning to look ahead, Luna let out a small sigh of relief when she saw that indeed, the peak was finally in sight as the moonlight glinted off of it. _Up we go…_ Pushing herself up and off of the ground, Luna trudged forward.

She was grateful there was now a path, albeit steeper than she would have liked leading up to the top. By now, the air had begun getting thinner, each breath giving her body a little less oxygen. _Oh geez…_ Stopping to catch her breath several times, Luna was starting to worry that she wouldn't make it in time. If she didn't… She really wasn't looking forward to being ripped apart…

With renewed vigour, she continued forward, trying not to stop too often to catch her breath. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she reached level ground and stumbled into another clearing. This one was illuminated with numerous lanterns and even had tents set up.

"Oh, I guess the little girl managed to survive." A mocking voice drifted to her ears and Luna frowned as she turned to face its owner. The scarred woman was smirking at her, though it looked more like a twisted grimace.

Straightening, she smiled serenely despite being rather annoyed, "I suppose I did."

The woman looked like she wanted to say something else when the Cervello stepped forward.

"As both candidates have successfully completed the first half of the match, we can now move on to the second."

"Before that, we must confirm that both are able to produce an ice flame."

At that, Luna stared at them blankly. _I'm guessing making a chunk of ice appear isn't what they're looking for…_

"Heh, piece of cake," the woman said smoothly and held out her hand. A white flame with blue edges engulfed it and blazed brightly, causing the surroundings to feel both cold and hot at the same time. That seemed to satisfy the Cervello and they nodded before turning to Luna and motioned for her to proceed.

"Um… I…" Her face heated up at what she was about to say. _I can't do it?_ _This isn't like me…_ "Augh…" Letting out a deep exhale, she closed her eyes and held her hand palm up in front of her. _Okay… just… let it come naturally… or something._ She visualized the warmth from her body being concentrated into her hand, and at the same time, channeled the same feeling she felt when she used ice into the same place.

After a little while, she heard a snort from whom she presumed was the army woman and opened her eyes to see what was so funny. Upon seeing the tiniest flame alight in her hand, she realized why the woman was practically beside herself with silent laughter. _I would be too if I were in her shoes…_ She thought with a mortified expression.

The Cervello looked at each other before back to Luna. "It's passable…"

"The match will take place at noon. Until then, you are free to do as you wish as long as you do not engage each other in battle."

"The infrared beams around the spectator boxes have been disabled and will remain so until the time for the second part of the match arrives."

"Ah…" Letting out a sigh, Luna dragged herself to a fallen trunk and sat down, suddenly feeling completely drained. She doubted she was going to have enough energy to keep her wounds frozen and wondered if one of the tents had a first aid kit. Slowly picking herself up, she distantly wondered where the other Varia members were, but decided it probably didn't matter. _It's not like I'm one of them anyways…_

"Ugh…" _Now they start hurting…_She huffed to herself. Limping forward, she didn't make it five steps when she felt a pair of arms sweep her off her feet. "Waaah!" Turning her head in alarm, Luna found herself staring at the Varia's sun guardian. "Lussuria!"

At that, he tsk'ed her and began to walk, "I told you to call me Luss-nee or mama Luss. If you don't, I'll drop you."

Paling, she felt strangely nostalgic of this and couldn't help a small smile before uttering a quiet apology. "Sorry Luss-nee…"

"It's alright Luna-chan~" the man hummed as he brought her over to one of the tents. "Let's get you patched up shall we?"

Luna nodded and then hesitated. Just a few days ago, before he had been sent to the hospital, Lussuria had been distant and guarded, but why was it he seemed more friendly now? It appeared that the green haired man sensed her confusion and gently set her down onto a chair before speaking. "Boss told us… You don't remember, but we were able to finally get part of the answer we were looking for."

He was right about that, because Luna had no idea what he was referring to. Lussuria knew that too, so he just patted her head before grabbing a first aid kit and returning to her. "Well now, I'll numb you up and fix you till you're good as new, alright sweetie? I'll need you to release the ice."

Nodding again, Luna complied, and the moment all the ice had melted off, blood gushed forward and pain exploded through her body. Gasping, she gripped the arms of the chair so tightly her knuckles turned white. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes and she bit her lip to keep herself from crying. She knew she wasn't one to cry over injuries, but she hadn't been expecting how much everything would hurt when it came back to her all at once.

"There there, it'll be okay." The sun guardian said soothingly. Luna would have retorted if she could have formulated the words, but since she didn't trust herself to speak coherently, the whitenette opted to keep silent.

She was aware of being pricked in several places with needles and after a few minutes, a numbing sensation spread throughout her body. It felt strangely nice, and now that she was more or less relaxed, Luna felt herself succumbing to sleep.

"Get some rest alright?" Even without him saying it, Luna had already drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

The rest of the Varia had come in just as the amnesic had dozed off and almost immediately, Squalo spoke up. "Well this is fucked up. I don't know how she managed to pass the first half in one piece, but against that… freakin' gorilla, she doesn't stand a chance."

Compared to Luna, the other woman, whom they learned was named Nicolette, was like a monster. Right from the get go, she had used her ice flame to freeze a path all the way up to the top. Anything that got in her way was instantly eliminated, including those meant to test her. She killed indiscriminately and without a care. Much like what was expected of a Varia officer. But… That wasn't the purpose here. Not only that, but Nicolette had come out completely unscathed.

"…The merchant will die." Bel wasn't smiling, but instead, his brows were furrowed, not that you could see it anyways. He still hadn't fully forgiven Luna, but after what happened earlier today, he was slowly getting there… possibly.

Lussuria nodded with a sigh as he continued patching the unconscious girl up. "Her flame was pathetic… But that aside…" He let the sentence hang as his mind re-winded back to Luna's encounter with the genetically modified wolf. From the screen, all they saw was the beast springing forward, but then halfway to Luna it was suddenly frozen in a block of ice. The ice had literally appeared within the blink of an eye. Even before, Luna had never done something like that… Ice took time to form, it didn't just pop into existence… not just that, but her wounds had suddenly frozen over…

"Her powers are waking up…" Mammon finished Lussuria's sentence and floated over to a chair. "That much is evident now."

"Well it's no good if she can't do shit tomorrow." Squalo scowled, referring to the fact that she couldn't use the ice flame at all.

"We'll just have to leave her in your care then, Squ-chan."

"…Why the fuck am I saddled with her?" He shouted. A second later a brandy glass shattered against his head, and the rain guardian whipped around to yell at his boss when he saw the glare the man was giving him.

"Shut the fuck up."

Opening his mouth again, he thought better of it and shut it promptly before turning back to Lussuria. _What's with him…?_ "What makes you think I can teach her?"

The sun guardian was wearing an amused expression on his face and took his sweet time before replying. "Because rain and snow are the closest."

That seemed to hit the bull's eye and Squalo fell silent.

"…Fine. But if she still dies after that, it's not my fault."

* * *

R&R please~


	10. Snow Guardian's Match: Part II

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Skyla15699: Thank you~ ^^

shanagi95: Oh I'm sorry x'D I might not have explained it very well… So the snow guardian's are chosen by the sky guardians; neither Tsuna nor Xanxus had any say as to who the two snow guardian candidates were. They were picked because they could use the ice flame and since they exist to protect the Vongola, and not the boss in particular, therefore they don't serve or take orders from the family. They're to be impartial to both sides (Tsuna vs. Xanxus' sides) and will act independently regardless of who is chosen to be Vongola Decimo. The Cervello found them due to their flames and thus made them a part of the ring battles. Did that help at all? ;u;

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Snow Guardian's Match Part II**

"…up….ke…p…..wake up…..WAKE THE FUCK UP WOMAN!"

Bolting upright, sky blue hues shot open and looked around in alarm, her mind still half asleep as she tried to pinpoint the loud noise that had rudely woken her up. After wildly looking around for a few moments, sleep filled eyes landed on the source of the disturbance and she groaned. "Squalo… It's too early to be yelling…" Wanting nothing more than to roll over and fall back asleep, she didn't even manage to lay back down when the blanket was torn from her grasp, exposing her to the chilly mountain air.

With a yelp of protest, Luna instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, fully awake now. To her, it honestly wasn't all that cold, but it was still a big difference from the warmth she had been surrounded with when the blanket was there.

"Get up. I have four hours to make you competent enough to produce an ice flame, not some pathetic candle sized thing that puts you as the laughing stock." Scowling, he hauled her out of bed and out of the tent. Sighing, the whitenette let herself be dragged off as she let out another yawn, not fully registering everything he had said. As they walked through what would soon be a battle ground, Luna looked around and noted that she was probably the last one up. The group of kids were huddled together in a group, and when she had come out, a few looked over at her, the brunette with spiky hair being one of them.

He shot her what appeared to be a sympathetic look, and she tilted her head curiously at him, wondering why he was concerned about her. _He doesn't even know me, but he's concerned… What a sweet boy._ She thought with a small smile. Sliding her gaze away from him and over his companions, she noted the silver haired boy was glaring at her, and the black haired male was grinning at her without a trace of animosity. _Such an odd group…_

It seemed she wasn't the only one who had taken notice of the group of kids as Squalo came to an abrupt stop, causing Luna to bump into him. "Don't just stop…" She said with a frown as she took a step back. Squalo paid her no heed as he turned to glare at Tsuna and his friends.

"VOIIII! STOP GAWKING BRATS!" He hollered while swinging his blade around. In addition to that, he tch'ed and gave them one last glare before grabbing a hold of Luna's arm again and hauling her away from the people. Unbeknownst to her, his main purpose for going to a secluded area was to avoid Nicolette and not so much the teens. That woman was ruthless and, from the looks of how she went through the first part of the match, efficient as well. _Tch… Too bad we couldn't recruit her for the Varia instead…_

Dragging his grey hues over to the girl he was towing behind him, a rather valid thought crossed his mind. _Should we even be helping her? It's survival of the fittest right? To be able to be considered worthy of an ice flame and to be the snow guardian, she'd have to know how to stand alone and live independently without relying on the help of others…_ As it was now, this was already unfair because she'd have a veteran flame user, and one that wielded a flame that was close to hers, help her out.

Involuntarily, he had begun to slow down as they walked through the trees, and his grip tightened considerably around her wrist at the end of it. Finally coming to a complete stop, Squalo whipped around to face her, about to say what was on his mind when he saw her smile. The expression on her face made him hesitate for a moment, leaving him to stand there and stare at her incredulously as she patted his arm and eased her wrist from his grasp. "S'okay Squalo… I'll figure it out on my own." Evident as it was that she was nervous, slightly afraid, and even a bit dejected, he could also see that she had practically read him like a book and understood what he had been mulling over despite the fact that he hadn't uttered a word. She looked determined to do something, and he could only nod as she stepped past him before being swallowed by the trees.

* * *

_It was for the best… Not like I could have done anything about it._

Despite his words of self validation, a certain silver haired captain was pacing around the tent in an impatient and restless manner. Scattered in the tent were other Varia members, one of which was angrily yelling at him, though he had completely tuned him out.

"How could you just leave her?! She'll die now and it'll be your fault Squalo!" Lussuria's shrill voice was beginning to drive him crazy, and though he was satisfied that the green haired man had momentarily ceased with the 'Squ-chan', this wasn't much better at all. Finally fed up with it, he spun on his heel and flipped the man off. "Shut the fuck up will you? It's not even our problem if she dies. It just means she was weak!" He snarled.

"Ushishi… But we still needed answers from her, no?" Bel tilted his head at the Varia Captain, a taunting grin on his face.

At that, a tick mark formed on said man's head and he yelled, "VOIII! THEN YOU GO HELP HER IF YOU'RE SO CONCERNED!"

"…Nah. The Prince shouldn't lower himself to the level of a merchant."

"THEN DON'T OPEN YOUR FUCKING MOUTH BRAT!"

"Shishishi."

"Boss what should we do?" Lussuria turned towards the crimson hued male who was currently residing in the biggest armchair present in the tent.

Lazily, those blood red hues flickered over to the sun guardian, and he seemed to be contemplating something before speaking in a low voice, "Nothing." He partly agreed with Squalo and at the same time, this fight would help to force her to remember – even if involuntarily – how to wield her flame and how to truly fight again. If she died… Well, he hadn't considered that yet. He supposed he had been thinking about this as if it were the former Luna fighting and not this… amnesic weakling. However, while it was true that Nicolette was a fighting machine, she was lacking something and had too much of something else. That would be her downfall; but only if Luna realized it and then managed to utilize it to her advantage.

* * *

_Four Hours Later…_

"Members of the Varia, please follow me to the spectator box." Only moments before, the pink haired woman had entered the tent, and after a brief silence, said men filed out of the tent after the Cervello.

In the centre of the field, Luna and Nicolette were already standing face to face, no more than ten metres apart from one another. One had their usual stoic face on, but the other shot the Varia a bright smile when she saw them, even going as to wave to them. "Hey~"

"…" Xanxus gave an imperceptible frown at her carefree attitude. _Did she get it?_ That question seemed to be shared amonst the Varia, and they carefully studied her.

Squalo's eyes narrowed and he cursed inaudibly under his breath the moment he found what he was looking for. Turning his back to her, he marched to the spectator box, already having figured out the answer. She may have been good at hiding some things, but the slight tension in her shoulders gave her away to him. The whitenette wasn't any closer to learning how to use the ice flame than she was four hours ago. If anything, her fate was all but sealed now.

Luna watched as the two groups filed into their respective spectator boxes, her heart doing small flip flops in her chest as she tried to remain calm. It wasn't exactly as Squalo had thought, but it was close enough to the truth. For four hours, she had been trying to grasp how to use the ice flame, but either she ended up with a tiny candle light like last time, or she felt on the verge of taking a hold of something bigger, only to have it slip through her fingers when she lunged to grab it. The whole experience had been frustrating to say the least, and by the end, she only managed to increase its size by a fraction, and still wasn't able to properly utilize it.

_Well… what can I do now? I really don't want to die… But as it stands…_ She grimaced at the thought before reluctantly dragging her gaze over to the scarred woman. _I'm going to be diced up into small cubes…_Her fear was only enforced when the woman smirked at her, but with the scarred half of her face, it turned into a twisted half-smile. _Oh good lord…_ Fiddling with the hem of her shirt, Luna ended up averting her gaze, opting instead to watch as the Cervello approached them.

"We will now begin the final half of the snow guardian's match. There is no time limit."

"The winner will be announced when one of the candidates is dead."

"…You may begin." With that, they both leapt out of the way, clearing the field so that both could move freely. Simultaneously, Nicolette bounded forward, her hand already alight with the ice flame. Given barely any time to react, Luna half jumped and half twisted out of the way a few seconds before the attack landed, drawing her rapiers in the process. Landing on her feet a few metres away, she stared in surprise at the frozen crater created from the impact of the army woman's attack. Spikes of ice were jutting from the ground, and the grass appeared to be both freezing and burning at the same time until nothing was left but a sprinkle of ice crystals.

_Is that what the ice flame does?_ She wondered with slight awe. Yet, having been distracted, she allowed herself to be blindsided by the woman who had wasted no time launching her next attack. A mid-height kick connected with her stomach with a sickening crack, and Luna let out a strangled gasp as the blow sent her flying backwards. Landing roughly on the ground, she skidded a bit before coming to a stop. Her mind was reeling and still trying to catch up with what was going on as she picked herself up from the ground, sky blue hues wildly scanning the area in hopes of pinpointing the woman's location.

_Left!_ Instinctively, her body reacted, and she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a flaming blade that singed the ends of her hair. Jumping to her feet, Luna had one hand on her abdomen, still clutching her weapon and the other holding her rapier up in front of her as she faced her soon to be executioner. The woman before her slowly straightened, clearly enjoying every second of this and slowly turned so that she was fully facing the whitenette.

"What's wrong little girl? Surely you can do better." The woman was blatantly taunting her, and even though she knew that, the comment stung. _What can I do?_ Taking a few measured breaths to calm herself down, Luna went over her options. Use ice, use a tiny ice flame, or run like a rabbit. If she could somehow use the first two together… Luna squinted when light suddenly reflected off the tip of her rapier, and she glanced up at it for a split second before looking back to the smug woman in front of her, an idea coming to mind. _I know I can't make a flame as big as hers… But if I just concentrate it at the tip…_ Furrowing her brows, she repeated the process she had used a dozen times when manifesting the flame, and sure enough, a small white-blue glow began to emanate from the tip of her rapier.

"Pfft!" The woman snorted at what she saw. "How do you expect to do any damage with that pathetic thing? It'd only ever work if…" She didn't even finish her sentence before seemingly disappearing and reappearing mere centimeters from Luna's face, her eyes bright and her teeth showing as she grinned at her, "You manage to hit me!" As she said the last word, she brought her knife up in a diagonal slash, ice flame alight along the serrated edge.

Luna's eyes widened as she toppled backward in a last minute attempt to avoid it. She toppled because her foot had been encased in ice, making it impossible for her to escape. Falling to the ground, she tried to make the ice shatter, but to no avail. "Augh!" About to stab it in frustration, she stopped when a shadow loomed over her, causing her head to whip up. "Having a rough time down there?" Tightening her grip on her weapon, the whitenette narrowed her eyes irately and thrust it up, set on doing at least a small amount of damage.

"Whoa there." Leaning back was all it took to avoid the rapier, and the woman chuckled at how pitiable this whole situation was. "Just give up already, it's sad watching you."

But with those few precious seconds, Luna wasn't even listening to the woman. _BREAK!_ To her relief, the ice around her feet finally shattered and she immediately scrambled to her feet before skipping back a few steps. Trying again to increase the flame's size, she felt a tingle on her skin as that infuriatingly elusive feeling spread through her body. She was so close! _Just a bit more…_ Keeping her eyes focused on Nicolette, she tried to grasp what kept evading her, but as always, it vanished the moment she reached for it. Frustration could be seen in her eyes, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh? Something wrong girly?"

"…" Setting her jaw, Luna raised her rapiers once more, her blue hues focused on the woman before her. No… actually, she doubted Nicolette could be considered a human at this point. She didn't act like one, and it may have been her imagination… But there was something mechanical about her movements. _Only one way to find out…_ Unlike the previous times, the amnesic was the first to strike, aiming straight for the woman's heart.

"Heh, so predictable!" Raising the knife to block, Luna let her first rapier clash against it, but at the same time, she drove the second rapier into the woman's leg. The moment it sunk in, there was an odd clunk sound, as if she had hit metal, and she felt her eyes widen a bit when the woman suddenly twisted in a violent fashion, pulling Luna forward as her rapier and the hand holding onto it was wrenched to the side. Stumbling, she managed to free her hand at the last second and regained her balance before watching in half horror as the woman pulled the rapier from her leg. It wasn't the act itself that frightened her, but rather, what had happened to her weapon. The tip had been twisted and crumpled into itself, bent and breaking… Something that would have been impossible if she had hit bone.

In response to her look Nicolette decided to elaborate a bit. "Oh, did I forget to mention? Most of my bones and joints have been replaced with titanium alloy parts. After my little accident," She motioned to the scarred half of her body, "Most said I was a dead man walking, but they never counted on my will to live." Smirking, Nicolette tossed the broken weapon aside before charging once more. Her expression was one of pure joy as she slashed at Luna's jugular, then dropped to the ground to sweep her feet from beneath her. Even with her semi instinctive reflexes, her mind wasn't completely synchronized with her body, and upon avoiding the knife, the whitenette failed to counter the sweep. As she began to fall, she swung her remaining rapier in a horizontal fashion, aiming to slit open the woman's throat.

This time, instead of being blocked with the knife, Luna found herself staring at the hand that had stopped her attack. Panic and realization of what was about to happen next made her stomach sink, and despite her attempts to wretch the blade out of Nicolette's grip, the woman wouldn't even let it slip a bit, and instead yanked it up so that Luna was standing once more and within her reach. _Crap!_ Releasing the weapon, Luna had intended to twist out of the way, but found herself acting too late.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Luna's gaze was glued to the hilt sticking out of her stomach before she was forced to the ground by a hand wrapped around her throat. Staring in utter shock, Luna found she wasn't feeling any yet, only knowing that there was something sticking out of her stomach, and the disbelief that it had even happened. "Judging by the look on your face, I need to prove that it's real." Even though the whitenette wasn't looking at her face, she knew the woman had a grin plastered on her face.

Tightening her grip around the knife, Nicolette pushed it in deeper and ignited the ice flame along the blade. The effects were immediate.

Luna's body arched off the ground despite the force keeping her down, and her vision went white with pain. A voice she didn't know belonged to her was screaming, screaming, screaming... Everything was on fire and freezing at the same time, and she was dimly aware of the scent of burning flesh and the feeling that something was ripping her stomach apart, spreading away from there and to the rest of her body. She was being torn apart, and with it came a cold, numbing sensation that spread through her body, setting her blood alight with a freezing flame that was killing her from the inside out. It went on for what seemed like an eternity, and she couldn't help but wish herself dead. At least then she wouldn't be able to feel anything.

Then, without warning, it abruptly stopped. The pressure from her throat disappeared, and she heard a sort of squelching sound when the knife was yanked from her abdomen, resulting in a dull wave of pain. A small whimper left her lips at that, and as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, her unfocused eyes hazily making out that the ground was far away. She felt her head loll forward, completely depleted of the energy needed to keep her head up. _I'm so tired…_ Thoughts of sleep were oddly comforting, and even though she knew it would mean her death, she found she couldn't care less anymore. _Just let it end…_ With that thought, her eyes began to flutter shut, wanting nothing more than to embrace the waiting darkness.

"…Luna."

Such a quiet voice, but it somehow managed to reach her, making her pause in her actions. Who was that?

"Luna." This time it sounded more like an irritated growl than anything, and she had the strangest feeling she knew who it was. Drawing up the last of her energy to force her head up to see who kept calling her, she looked past Nicolette who had also turned to see who it was and found herself staring into a pair of furious crimson orbs.

"Get the fuck up." He snarled.

_...Demanding…_She thought sourly. Beside her, she could hear Nicolette's laughter.

"Are you retarded? She couldn't even if she wanted to." As if to prove her point, the army woman tossed Luna to the side like a ragdoll. "I've destroyed half her nerves, and combined with the blood loss and trauma, she'll die soon regardless of what I do."

"Don't interrupt me you piece of trash." He shot the woman a smothering glare before turning is attention back to the girl on the ground. "I haven't given you permission to die yet woman. So. Get. The. Fuck. Up."

"…Xanxus is a bully…" Raising her head to smile wanly at him, she wondered if she must have been hallucinating from the blood loss, but he didn't sound like the heartless man he usually was. If anything, she thought she heard a note of desperation in his voice? ….Nah. She was definitely hallucinating in that case. He merely snorted in response to her comment before falling silent again.

Looking between the two, a foreign emotion bubbled up inside of her, but Nicolette quickly swallowed it and burst out laughing instead. Taking a seat on the ground, she stated, "Fine. I'll sit right here, and I'll let you come and attack me until you die." _She only has ten minutes at most to live anyways. What can she do?_

"…Accepted…" Luna gasped out weakly. Closing her eyes, she sought out that familiar feeling again, only this time, she didn't try to catch it. It seemed Xanxus' reminder came to her at the oddest times. _Don't think about it, do what feels natural… _ In her mind, she stood there acquiescently as the glittering ice mist floated a few metres in front of her, seemingly dancing around in a playful manner.

"Ehe~" A playful giggle echoed in her mind as the icy mist condensed into a little girl with silvery white hair and a striking pair of blue eyes. _Is that…me?_ The young girl skipped over to where Luna was standing and stretched out her hand, as if to ask the amnesic to take it. "I think you finally understand how to use it." She smiled warmly as she stared up at Luna with clear eyes, the same eyes that she had stared at Squalo and Xanxus with the first time she met them after eight years. "Are you…me?" She asked upon slipping her hand into the girl's, she was surprised when the child began to disappear, returning to the icy mist that, this time around, surrounded her in its cool embrace instead of slipping away once more. Just before the girl had completely disappeared, Luna heard a chime-like laughter, "Who knows~"

The cool sensation spread through her body, putting out the remaining remnants of the ice flame as it did. With it was brought a sense of peace and calm. She knew this was temporary, and that she still couldn't move, but who ever said she needed to move?

Finally opening her eyes, a pair of steely blue hues bore into Nicolette, an unknown emotion flickering in their depths before a smile spread across her face. "You'll regret being so arrogant." She chimed softly. Frost spread rapidly across her skin, freezing her injuries in their current state before it spread along the ground at an alarming speed. Reaching the edges of the field, Nicolette felt her eyes widen slightly at the eerie resemblance the frost patterns had to that of a spider's web, with Luna perched in the middle like a predator waiting for its unsuspecting prey.

"Che." Leaping off the ground, she didn't manage to get very far as ice spiked up from the point of contact and wrapped itself around her ankle, jerking her back down to the ground. The moment she touched other parts of the icy web, frost spread across her skin and froze to the ground, keeping her in place. Even when she used her ice flame, or tried to make the ice shatter, it remained unaffected. With an angry growl, she channeled all her focus into breaking the ice, and this time, it partly shattered. "Heh, is this all you've got?!" Freeing herself completely, she hurtled towards the whitenette, using a maximum ice flame to destroy any ice that tried to hold her down.

"Of course not." Now that Nicolette was so close to the centre, the ice along the edges of the field snapped up into a net, and it all converged upon the woman, effectively twisting itself around her so she was trapped. "You sly little bitch," She seethed. "But you're wrong if you think this can hold me for long."

"It'll hold your remains, and that's good enough." Giggling, Luna mocked, "Say, have you ever been burned alive?" The look on Nicolette's face at that was incredibly satisfying, and Luna continued, "Oh… Silly me, of course you have. So I suppose you know what's coming next." Giving the woman her telltale angelic smile, it didn't matter how much the woman struggled, because the ice refused to give this time around. Seconds after Luna had spoken, the ice enveloped Nicolette entirely, sealing her in an ice coffin, and once it was completely sealed off, the inside was set alight with a white blue flames.

From within, agonizing screams could be heard, coupled with thumps against the ice that told of her faltering attempts to break free. _Hurts doesn't it? I would know…_ Soon the screams died off, and the charred, crystalline body crumpled to the ground. When the body burned, it burned the person into ice, and when the ice burned, it shattered into nothingness. That was what a true ice flame did. There was no evidence left behind, nothing to suggest the person was ever there… Looking down at her mangled abdomen, she innately knew Nicolette's ice flame wasn't complete… There were storm flames mixed in, which was why it burned more than it froze. Finally, the last traces of Nicolette vanished as the flame burned itself out, and the ice coffin shattered.

After a few moments of utter silence, the voices of the Cervello rang out through the field. "This concludes the last of the ring battles."

"The victor of the scramble battle for the ring of snow is Luna Cross."

_It's over…_ _It's finally over… _Relief and happiness flooded through her, and with it, the last of her strength disappeared. Sinking into the welcoming oblivion, she was distantly aware of something being slipped onto her finger before completely losing consciousness.

* * *

R&R please~


	11. Back again

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Skyla15699: Thank you =) loll I don't mind so much ;u; (maybe…) But I'm happy with the reviewers who currently do review~ and yes! He is… XD I'm really scared of making him ooc T.T So hopefully his actions are still ic?

KHRLover1997: Yes *^* b

shanagi95: Ahaha you're such a nice person to think that way ;u; The way I had intended was that Nicolette had done that out of arrogance, not mercy. But that's also true, for Luna to burn someone alive, she has to be cruel enough to do it. She was also really pissed off which helped.

Alice: Thankies~ ^^

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Back…Again**

Before the family head, a middle aged woman stood cowering, her eyes glued to the ground and her hands nervously wringing in front of her.

"You're a disgrace to our family name." She flinched at the malice in his voice and could only stutter out an endless stream of apologies, feeling the heat of his glare boring into her soul despite being unable to see it. "As I see it, the only reason you're still here in front of me with your heart still beating is because she hasn't recovered her memories yet." His voice was cold and sharp, leaving no room for dissent. Around the room stood the elite members of the family, and the guardians of the family head. All partially shrouded in darkness, they watched, some in amusement, some with indifference at the failings of one of their lower members. But they all shared the same feeling of superiority and disappointment.

The woman in question was Laura Moretti. The middle aged woman had be tasked with what should have been an easy task. Take care of the amnesic girl until the time came for them to assimilate her into the family. But the incompetent woman had her stolen from under her nose. It had been so hard to track Luna while in the Varia's care. The men they had in there were limited, and it was difficult enough for them to snoop around undetected, let alone make contact without arousing suspicion.

But it appeared that god was smiling down on them and they had been given another chance. The family had been quick to seize it, and now it was only a matter of time before the pieces fell into place.

* * *

_Beep…beep…beep…_

The rhythmic noise slowly brought Luna out from her sleep, and it was soon joined by machines whirring, and the sound of gases being pumped into the mask strapped to her face. Her body felt like lead, sinking into the bed around her, and she felt no desire to try and move her limbs. Even opening her eyes proved to be strenuous, and her lids felt heavy once she managed to force them open. Around her white coats bustled around, hovering by her bed for a few moments before gliding off to read something off of the charts hanging off the end of her bed. Blinking a few more times to clear her blurry vision, the whitenette came to realize that they weren't just white coats, but rather people.

Opening her mouth to speak, she found her tongue wouldn't respond, and it felt like dry cotton in her mouth. Around the same time, someone finally took notice that her eyes were open and immediately came over, bending so that he was looming over her face. "Are we awake _principessina_[1]?" He smiled warmly and Luna stared at him, still not fully understanding his words. By the time she had processed his first three words, he had withdrawn and was busy adjusting her bed so that she was in a semi-sitting position.

Pulling up a seat next to her bed, the same man sat down before he began. "I understand that you'll be feeling light headed and muddled for the next little while. That'll be the effects of the morphine in you. Your nerves took quite the damage and your stomach…" He stopped and grimaced. "Unfortunately there'll be a nasty scar… And you'll have to go through rehabilitation to relearn your fine motor skills… But you're lucky none of your vital organs were irreparably injured."

The doctor placed a hand atop of hers, and Luna's eyes trailed down to it, aware of how warm and big his hand was. This man seemed kind… Like someone she could trust… It was a nice feeling… He himself wasn't all that old. Late twenties maybe? Wavy black hair was loosely tied back with a few stray strands framing a sun kissed visage and a pair of glasses sat on a perfectly formed bridge. _Quite the looker too…_ She thought absently before catching herself. Since when did she start thinking like this? Blinking slowly, she began to frown before opening her mouth again. "…wher…I…?" Her words only partially came out before she coughed, her throat feeling scratchy and dry.

"Oh! Pardon me, I'm such a scatterbrain." Getting up quickly, he fetched some water before running back and sticking a straw in it. Holding it out, he gently pried the mask off her face before guiding the straw to her lips. "Here you go." Taking a few sips, she felt her head clearing a bit and the cotton feeling fade away. Smiling gratefully, she drew back and let him readjust the oxygen mask around her face. Once he set the cup back down, he proceeded to answer her question, understanding what she had asked despite it being in partial words. "You're in a Vongola hospital. Seeing as you're the snow guardian now, we've become family." He gestured to her hand and smiled at that, and in response, Luna slowly lifted her hands up and blinked upon seeing a ring on her right hand's middle finger.

"My name's Giovanni, and for the duration of your stay, I'll be your personal doctor _principessina._" Giovanni gave a small bow before taking Luna's hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. Luna blinked at his actions, wondering when doctors became so… physical, not to mention a _personal_ doctor? When had that ever occurred? Yet, instead of commenting, she nodded, deciding it must be a mafia thing. Lightly clearing her throat, she looked at him, "Why… are you calling me _principessina?_"

The doctor's smile only widened at that. "Many reasons. Though the most immediate one would have to be that you are important to the Varia, no? They waited here while you were in surgery, and Xanxus looked like he would have killed us all if you didn't live. Squalo was pacing around stone faced, and even Belphegor wasn't smiling. If that doesn't make you worthy of being called '_principessina_' then I don't know what is."

She raised a skeptical brow at his words, wanting to challenge his words but the look on his face told her he was sticking by what he said and thought, leaving Luna to resignedly drop it, and instead inquire about the other thing. "And the other reasons?" Luna asked curiously. To that, Giovanni pressed a finger to his lips. "Those ones are secrets." He chuckled softly before standing up again. "I'll have one of my nurses let them know you're awake now. In the mean time, is there anything you need?"

Being presented with all of that was a bit… weird. How the doctor had just said was strange, but more than that, what he said in regards to the Varia members was even stranger. Luna had been under the impression they couldn't care less about what happened to her, especially after Bel had tried to decapitate her… "Uh… no I think I'll be okay…" She gave him a half-hearted smile, her mind still stuck on the notion that they had been worried about her. It made more sense just to deny it and think that the doctor was joking, but at the same time, a part of her hoped that it was true… If it was, then… would it be okay for her to hope? Hope that maybe she could regain her place beside them?

* * *

As she had already predicted, none of the Varia came after the nurse alerted them that she had woken up. _Yep, I think Giovanni was pulling my leg earlier._ With a soft chuckle, Luna turned her gaze to the window and let out a yawn as her hues flitted over the various doctors, civilians and patients wandering outside the hospital grounds. From her room, they all looked like ants bustling about, the only distinguishing traits were the clothes they wore. As she lazily looked over them, she felt her heart do a small flip when a peculiar pair of people caught her attention. Their uniforms were unmistakenably Varia, and the way they commanded the attention around them… A smile couldn't help but slip itself onto her features. She was happy and surprised. Of course, neither looked happy to be here, and yet, they had come.

Leaning back, she let out a giggle and settled into the pillows as she waited for them to come up. Even though she seemed composed, slender fingers were constantly fiddling with the edges of the blanket, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Giovanni when he walked in. The doctor raised an eyebrow as he walked over. "Are you bored? If you'd like, you could watch some television…" He nodded towards it and brought the remote over to her.

Luna shook her head, a smile still on her face, "No, I'm okay." Giovanni looked like he was going to comment but decided against it, instead giving her a nod before taking a seat before her. "I need to check on your wound now. Can you lift your shirt up?" In his hands he held a fresh set of bandages and ointment. As the whitenette complied, he set the materials on the bed so he could cut away the old bandages wrapped around her torso. For a few moments, all could be heard was the functioning of machines and the snipping of bandages falling away from the wound. Then there was a low whistle and Giovanni shook his head sympathetically. "What a horrible wound…" He murmured with furrowed brows.

At this point, Luna's curiosity was uncontainable, "What does it look like?"

The doctor opened his mouth to answer, only to be cut off as a harsh voice answered, "Like a fucking explosion." Luna's head snapped up to find herself staring at Xanxus leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed. Crimson eyes weren't focused on her face, instead glaring at the freshly revealed injury decorating her abdomen. From behind him emerged Squalo who slipped into the room without a word. For a moment, everyone was staring at each other - minus Giovanni who was spreading ointment on the wound as gently as he could - before Squalo broke the silence. "Why the fuck weren't we told she was awake?" His voice came out a snarl as he narrowed his eyes at the doctor.

_What?_ Luna found herself staring in confusion at the doctor as well. Said man however, didn't stop in his actions though he had a frown on his face. "I suppose my nurse forgot. My apologies, I'll reprimand her later."

"Che… Incompetent trash…" Xanxus had turned his attention to the doctor now, who, to Luna's surprise, wasn't cowering under the man's gaze.

His voice was calm and unaffected as he replied. "Please understand that we are understaffed here and because of that, some things tend to be left until later if they're not urgent." Taking the roll of bandages, he began to wrap it around Luna's waist. Once he finished, he motioned that she could drop her shirt back down and stood up. "I'll let you three speak then. _Principessina,_ I'll be back later to check some other things, alright?" When Luna nodded, he turned and excused himself, leaving the room without another word.

Turning her gaze to the two males, the whitenette motioned at two chairs, telling them to sit. Instead of complying, Xanxus shot at her, "What's with the shitty nickname?" His deep voice was that of a predatory growl and Luna found herself wanting to laugh. _That's what he's concerned about?_ But she didn't dare to laugh out loud, instead shrugging, "I don't know." She chimed innocently.

He glared at her, his eyes clearly conveying the message that he didn't believe her bullshit, but opted against asking anymore. Stifling silence descended upon the room once more, and Luna let out a soft sigh, unsure of what else to say. Despite the seemingly uncomfortable silence, she was content knowing they had come to visit even without being called.

The three of them remained staring at each other for a while longer before Xanxus turned and walked out. Blinking, Luna gazed after him in confusion before turning her gaze to Squalo who had started to leave as well. As if to answer her inquisitive gaze, he muttered, "You're fine, so we're going." He turned and took a few steps out of the door before whipping around to face her. "VOII, WE TOOK TIME OUT OF OUR BUSY SCHEDULES TO COME SEE YOU BRAT, SO YOU BETTER BE FUCKING GRATEFUL." With that, Squalo stomped out after his boss, leaving Luna slightly dazed from the volume of his voice.

"Pfft," covering her mouth to hide her laughter, Luna found that Squalo was a lot nicer than she had originally thought. It wasn't to say he wasn't an ass sometimes, not to mention would kill without a second thought, but he had his moments that led her to believe he wasn't all that bad. She supposed she could say the same for some of the other members, namely Lussuria, and Xanxus – albeit questionably. "Weirdoes…" She hummed softly to herself.

* * *

_Three months later…_

After the day she had woken up, the only Varia member who had periodically visited her was Lussuria. He came at least twice a week bringing gifts and updates on how the rest of the 'brutish men' as he put it, were doing. Today however, the green haired male was coming for his final visit. Just yesterday, Luna had received approval to leave the hospital and to do the rest of her rehabilitation at Varia headquarters. As snow guardian, she had to stay in Italy anyways and watch over the Vongola as a whole, so there were no objections to her wish to remain with Vongola's independent assassination squad as they were the ones who tended to cause the most trouble.

Changing into more suitable clothing, the whitenette had just slipped her blouse on when she noticed her reflection in the mirror. For the duration of her stay, she had done her best not to look or touch her wound, but now that it was healed up, she found her curiosity spilling over. Slipping off the bed, she soundlessly made her way over to the mirror and gingerly lifted the material away from her body so she had a clear view of the scar. Upon seeing the raised and pinkish flesh, she grimaced. It was just as Xanxus had said… Jagged streaks branched out from what appeared to be an explosion and upon ghosting her fingers over the newly formed skin, Luna shivered slightly at the sensitivity of it. _So much for finding a husband with a body like this…_ She thought in half jest. Turning away from her reflection, she began to button up the blouse and had just finished when Giovanni came in, a white paper bag in his hands. When he saw her, he smiled warmly before making his way over to where she was.

"Well _principessina_, the next time I see you will be for you check up… I must say, you've been a pleasure to have as a patient." Dropping the bag into her hands, he continued. "There's some painkillers and ointment in there. Follow the instructions and you should be good. Also…" He pulled out a bottle from his pocket. "This was on your file, saying you needed to take it for some prior condition you had. You haven't filled the prescription in a while, so I took the liberty of making sure you have enough for a year."

With a grateful smile, Luna nodded and took the proffered bottle. Apparently she had been told that these were needed by the doctor she visited shortly after waking up without any memories. The man said it was to help stimulate her mind so that she would remember sooner… However, for the past few months, she had eased off on them, practically forgetting about them during her stay with the Varia. Luna had figured that they would help her remember faster than a drug would, but… it couldn't hurt to speed up the process a bit more, right?

Giovanni's voice broke through her thoughts and she quickly looked up. "It says you need to take them three times a day. I trust you won't forget?" He gave her pointed look, and she quickly assured him that she wouldn't. "Well then, I think that's all. Don't ever hesitate to come see me if you need anything, and do take care." He gently lifted her hand and kissed the back of it before leading her from the room and to a waiting Lussuria. The moment the sun guardian spotted her, he skipped towards her with a positively glowing aura.

"Luna-chan~" Scooping her up into a princess carry without missing a beat, he skipped straight down the hall and into an elevator, moving so quickly that Luna barely had any time to comprehend what had just happened until they were already in the elevator and halfway down. "L-Luss-nee… It's nice to see you." Despite being surprised, she was truthfully happy to see the man and smiled up at him. "Will you put me down please?" But even she knew the answer to that.

"Mm… No. I sensed some pretty nasty aura in that hospital wing, and seeing as you're still so fragile, it's not safe for you to be unprotected." Hiding the twitch she had in reaction to his words, she sighed, about to comment about how paranoid he probably was when they reached the basement, prompting the green haired man to whisk Luna into the car before commanding the chauffeur to 'high-tail it out of this drab place'. Wincing a bit as she landed awkwardly on the car seat, the amnesic couldn't help but feel like reminiscent of her and Squalo's first few encounters. He had more or less tossed her in the car, just as Lussuria had just done, though with the sun guardian, he was a bit gentler at least…

Buckling herself in, they had barely started driving when the homosexual male began chattering away. "It's been sooo gloomy! The boss has probably killed enough chefs to fill a graveyard twice and his paperwork's everywhere!" He whined. "Honestly, don't tell him this, but I think he acts like such a child sometimes." Winking knowingly at Luna, he then changed the topic to how the other members were. They hadn't bothered replacing their cloud guardian, and in regards to relations with the Vongola, they had completed their punishment finally and were once again taking on missions.

"While you were in hospital, I took the liberty of buying you a new wardrobe~ I mean, all the clothes you had there were so last year darling." Raising a brow at that, Luna couldn't help but ask, "And uh… How did you know my sizes? I'm pretty sure I won't fit the clothes I had from eight years ago…" To that, the man laughed, "Of course not. I figured out your sizes from when I carried you during the intermission before the second half of your battle."

"…You figured out my sizes from that?" Luna felt a bit horrified and awed at the same time. It was weird, and slightly embarrassing. Those things were supposed to be private (or at least, she thought so), yet Lussuria had acquired that information as if it were nothing. Apparently it was, seeing as he waved her off about it before continuing to babble about things, regardless of whether or not she was even listening.

Strangely enough, Lussuria's voice acted as a wonderful lull into dreamland, and Luna soon found herself nodding off, much to the sun guardian's annoyance. "Hey! Luna-chan, that's rude you know," He huffed as he shook her awake. "Huh? Oh… Sorry…" She said with a yawn, though it was apparent to both of them she wasn't. "Well… whatever, we're almost home." He finally said with a small smile. "And no you can't sleep once we get there. We're going to throw a party!" He squealed and clapped his hands together. "It'll be so fun! Only… You have to make boss' steak… But other than that, it'll be great!" Lussuria was gushing about it so animatedly that Luna found herself being caught in his pace. Smiling, she nodded, "There'll be cake right?"

"Pfft, of course! What kind of welcome back party doesn't have cake? Oh! And alcohol. There'll be lots of alcohol!"

"…of course…" Knowing them (aka Xanxus) there's no way in hell he'd be without alcohol, no matter where he was…

Another ten minutes later, and they were pulling though the gates and then to a stop in front of the magnificent mansion. _I've… missed this place…unexpectedly._ She chuckled softly as she stepped out of the car and took a deep breath before stretching her arms above her head.

"Come on now Luna-chan~" Lussuria called from the door, already halfway inside. _Fast isn't he._ She thought with a shake of her head. Tilting her head back, she looked up briefly at the full grandeur of the mansion and smiled, "I'm back."

* * *

R&R please~

A/N: aughhhhh I know this is kinda short and crappy and is more of a filler than anything T.T I have ONE more exam. ONEEEEEEEE! And then I'll be free ;u; b LOL so please bear with me as I probably won't post until it's over OTL


	12. So It Begins

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Skyla15699: hurhurhur maybe~ 8D ahahah ^^

shanagi95: Yes, more or less ^^;; I'll have them interact in the future most likely =D

BabyShinji: He is x3 and thanks =)

MusicIsInMySoul: Thanks so much! /

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: So It Begins…**

Stepping inside, Luna was instant caught up in the bustling liveliness of the place. Varia members were rushing around, and Lussuria was standing in the midst of them, looking rather annoyed. "You were supposed to have finished before we arrived!" He screeched angrily. "What kind of party isn't ready when the guest of honour arrives? Honestly." Crossing his arms, the sun guardian glared at them expectantly, daring any one of them to make excuses.

"S-sorry sir… We thought you said be ready five, not four…" One of them mumbled, his voice trailing off at the end.

A tick mark appeared on the green haired male's forehead, but before he could explode, Luna tugged on his arm, pulling him away from the group. "Erm… why not show me the new clothes you got for me? I should change into something nicer if it's a party right?" The whitenette knew she would probably regret these words later, but at the moment, keeping those men alive and in one piece seemed to be more important.

Just like that, Lussuria brightened up considerably and he clapped his hands together. "That's a wonderful idea Luna-chan~" He sang. Sweeping her up into a princess carry once more, he bounded up the stairs and straight to her room. Once there, she felt herself being dropped onto the bed before the sun guardian and fluttered away to her closet and was chattering happily about how lovely she would look once he was done with her. "Oh this dress…. It's simply divine… but not right for this occasion…" He was talking more to himself than to her, though the amnesic didn't really mind. She was never one to know much about clothes anyways, and her knowledge of fabrics and brands were incredibly limited. _Not my fault school's more important…_ She thought defensively.

"This one's perfect!" Lussuria squealed from within her closet. Poking his head out, he looked back and forth between Luna and whatever he was holding out of view. "Yes." He nodded, "Yes yes yes!" Stepping out, Luna saw that he was holding a black, asymmetrical, strapless dress. The front was short and the back was long with cascading ruffles to make the length transition seamless. The back was laced up and the waistline was accented with small gems in a belt-like fashion. Upon seeing it in its entirety, Luna let out a small gasp. It was beautiful, and it looked much too expensive to be reasonable. "L-Luss-nee… How much was that…?" She asked in a small voice.

In response, said man merely waved her off, "It wasn't too expensive. Now come here honey and put it on."

"Uh… Isn't that a little too fancy for just a dinner…?" She mumbled.

"Pish posh, this is the Varia, Luna-chan~ We _always_ do extravagant."

To that, she had nothing to say, especially since a part of her really did want to wear it… Caving in, she obliged and went over to where Lussuria was before relieving him of the dress and ushering him out of the walk-in closet. "I'll change… You… uh… just stay out there…"

"Yes yes, just come out when you need help with the zipper alright?"

"…" I knew I forgot about something… With a resigned nod, Luna shut the door before striping and pulling on the dress. Though she had been a bit skeptical earlier, it seemed Lussuria really had found out her exact sizes just from carrying her as the dress clung to her figure perfectly. Holding the front up with one hand, the whitenette opened the door once more and turned her back to the sun guardian. He didn't need to be asked, and was standing behind her in the next second, his deft hands zipping up the back of her dress.

"There. Now for accessories~" Spinning her around, the green haired male pushed Luna towards the vanity before making her sit. Picking up one of the necklaces he had laid out on the table, he held it up to her neck. "What do you think?" He asked gently. Luna glanced at it before her sky hues drifted down to the other ones laid out. Hesitantly, she shook her head, and instead pointed to one with a diamond crystal pendant with elegant metalworking forged into swirls around the top where it connected to the chain. When she heard nothing from Lussuria about her choice, she tilted her head up and looked at him with furrowed brows. "No good…?" Expecting to see a disapproving expression on the man's face, Luna was surprised to see the man seemed to look like he was on the verge of tears.

"L-Luss-nee?!"

Fanning himself, he took a few moments before answering her, "No, it's perfect." He didn't say anything else as he picked it up and clasped it around her neck. Laying it down at the base of her throat, he started on curling her hair before finally speaking. "That was… a gift to you for your birthday. I think it was the one before the Cradle Affair? Funny that you would choose it despite having no memory of it." He chuckled softly at the end as he finished pulling her hair up into an up-do, leaving several strands hanging to frame her face. "Pretty as a princess~" He hummed in approval.

Luna wanted to ask him about who had given it to her, seeing as it must have been someone important for Lussuria to tear up about it. However, she wasn't given the chance as he grabbed her hand and tugged her away from the vanity to where he had set out several pairs of heels. After glancing between her and them for a minute or so, Lussuria picked up a pair and brought them over to the whitenette. "These go best with how you look." Taking them from his hands, Luna stared at them for a bit. They were simple, sleek, black, and with the tiniest jeweled accents so they didn't make it seem too overwhelming when paired with the dress. Nodding in approval, she slipped into them before standing up and giving Lussuria a peck on the cheek. "Thanks Luss-nee. Shall we?" She took his arm and tugged him towards the door, feeling happier since it had been a while since she'd dressed up like this.

"Of course sweetie~ The brutes are already in the dining room, so be sure to make a grand entrance," He winked as they descended the stairs. Raising a brow at that, Luna joked, "So should I destroy the doors? That'd grab their attention for sure."

"Pfft. Why not? I think you have the right to this once." He chuckled. "It's replaceable after all. I say go ahead Luna-chan~"

"Really?" She asked incredulously.

Stopping outside said door, Lussuria nodded once more, giving her the go ahead. With a small grin, Luna reached out and let her fingertips rest on the surface of the ornately carved oak doors. Within seconds it had completely frozen over, and then with a series of cracks, the doors more or less exploded into trillions of tiny ice crystals, seemingly creating the effect of snow.

The members who had just been chattering away moments before all fell silent and turned to stare at where their door once stood. A second later, a familiar head of silver heard emerged from the crowd, breaking the silence, "VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WHAT THE FUCK WAS-" His words died in his throat when his eyes came to rest on the one responsible for the destruction. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish for a few moments, it was as if Squalo had forgotten how to speak. "…WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" He finally yelled.

To that, nearly the entire hall burst into laughter, much to his annoyance, "VOI, IT'S NOT FUNNY!" The laughter quickly died down when he started waving his sword at people, and soon, all the lower Varia members had run for the sides of the room, leaving only the guardians in the middle. "Oh um… Hey." Luna smiled sheepishly as she and Lussuria reached where the others were, ignoring Squalo as he muttered things to himself. "Hope you won't miss the doors…"

"…"

"…"

"Muu… You're paying for their repair, and you're also going to pay for the ridiculous amount of clothing you bought."

"Ah… no." She immediately replied.

"…No?" Mammon twitched at that and was about to retort when Luna cut in. "You ran away from your battle, if I've been told correctly. So you still have to make up for it. Therefore, you can pay."

"Erk…" The Arcobaleno looked livid, but was unable to retort, so instead, he floated away, most likely to his room.

"Puttana… Looks like you're finally dressing how you ought to." A rough voice behind her sneered.

"I missed you too Levi." She said smiling angelically at him. Immediately, his guard shot up the moment he saw that smile, and just in time too as a steak knife was sent straight for his head.

"You…!" About to draw his umbrellas, Lussuria stepped forward. "Now Levi, stop acting like a child. It's a party for goodness sake."

While the two began quarreling, Luna scanned the area for Xanxus. She didn't have to search for long and her sky hues clashed against crimson ones. A second later, his gaze dropped down to her neck, narrowing slightly at the sight of her necklace before he looked away from her altogether, returning his attention to the drink in his hand. Tilting her head curiously, she wanted to approach him about it, but was distracted upon hearing a familiar 'ushishi' behind her. Spinning around, she found herself face to face with Bel, and feeling oddly relaxed. As it seemed at the moment, he wasn't about to try and behead her again.

"It seems even a merchant can look like a princess when wearing proper clothing."

Unsure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, Luna gave him a small smile, "Thanks…?"

To that, she received a cryptic grin before the prince disappeared into the crowd once more.

* * *

It had been sometime since the party had gotten underway, and by now, people had finished dinner and were once again mingling or dancing. Even though she hadn't originally planned on it, Luna ended up having a few drinks here and there, most of them due to a toast of some sort. By now, the alcohol was making her head feel rather hot, and she was squeezing her way through the sea of people in hopes of getting to the patio. _Almost… There…_Huffing a bit, she finally stumbled outside and was instantly hit with the night's cool breeze. A sigh of relief left her lips as she walked over to the railing and propped her arms on it as she took in several deep breaths.

_So nice…_She hummed silently. The wind helped cool her down a bit and clear her mind, and she realized it was probably well past midnight by now. _I'm sure no one will notice if I just slip away…_Turning to head back inside, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed a figure seated alone at a table not far away. As it was off to the side and out of view, she hadn't noticed him coming out. "Xanxus?" Curiously, she went over to where he was and sat down beside him. "Why're you drinking out here?"

At first, his gaze merely flickered to her before away to his drink again, and he downed the contents in a single gulp before muttering, "Too fucking loud in there."

"Ah…" Glancing at the bottles, she frowned upon realizing the majority of them were empty. "You really ought to stop now…" Reaching forward, she snatched the bottle away from him as he tried to pour himself another glass. Doing so earned her a glare from him and he reached out to grab the bottle back. Standing up, Luna took a few steps back, clutching the bottle to her chest and shaking her head. "No. You're way too drunk." With a snarl, he stood up, and started towards her. "That's none of your business."

"Well… they might laugh at you if you do something stupid." She said referring to the others. "Besides, even if you weren't drunk, going through six bottles in one night isn't healthy."

"Screw my health." He growled and took another step towards her. Backing up some more, Luna realized she probably should have gone the other way when her back touched the wall. _Oh… oops._ Turning to escape to the side, she flinched back to her original position when an arm slammed into the wall beside her head. Turning to the other side, the whitenette found she was caged between the man's arms. Raising her head to meet his gaze, she felt her heart skip a beat at the sheer intensity of his gaze. It was as if he were staring into her soul. Shivering slightly at the thought, she cast her gaze slightly downwards and placed a hand on his chest in an attempt to push him back a little.

"Xanxus… I told you you're drunk. You're going to have a killer hangover tomorrow if you keep this up. Besides, it's not good for your li-"

"Look at me."

Stopping in mid-sentence, Luna peered up acquiescently with a hint of curiosity. His eyes were still as intense, but they also burned with something else, and that something held her captive. The amnesic felt her heartbeat pick up a bit as his face drew closer and his breath ghosted over her lips. It was hot in comparison to the chilly air and it caused goose bumps to rise on her skin. "…Xan…xus…?" He didn't reply, instead leaning forward, and Luna could feel his heartbeat against her hands, a rhythmic thumping that seemed impossibly slow compared to her own. But that fact was acknowledged in the back of her mind, as the rest of her was concentrating on his eyes and how close they were to each other. The tip of his nose brushed against hers, and her lips tingled as his breath ghosted over them once more, his lips nearly touching hers.

And then…

"VOIIIIIIIIIIIIII WHERE ARE YOU SHITTY BOSS?!"

Just like that, the spell was seemingly broken, and Xanxus drew back sharply, his eyes narrowing and his arms falling away from her sides as he turned. Without casting a single backwards glance at her, he left.

Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, Luna slowly sank to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees and hiding her beet red face in them. The tips of her ears burned, and she felt like her heart would explode out of her chest any moment now. _What was that? _Flustered, she abruptly stood up and set the bottle she had forgotten she was holding down onto the table with a loud clunk before dashing down the stairs on the side of the patio, opting to take a different route to her room than going back to the party. Her face was still red, and she didn't think she could handle having Lussuria or anyone else question her about it.

Once in her room, she quickly stripped and ran straight for the shower before turning on a cold stream of water to clear her mind. The effects were immediate, and Luna took a few deep breaths as she sorted out her thoughts and feelings. There was no point in reading into what had happened. Xanxus was most likely acting on impulse, and by now, she knew that he was the kind of person who didn't linger on things, therefore there's no reason for her to either. While she did admit to being attracted to him, and was a bit hurt that he probably didn't think much of what had just happened, she knew she'd only be hurt more if she stupidly pursued something that didn't exist. Xanxus was an assassin, not to mention a cold hearted bastard too. So the chances of being even considered as a lover by him were next to none.

_That's that then._ With a rueful smile, she turned off the water, stepped out, and got herself ready for bed. Tomorrow would be the same as every other day and she'd do her part by being herself. Taking two capsules of medication meant to help her memory, she fiddled with the bottle a little while more, some errant thoughts running through her mind. After a few moments, she gently shook her head and placed the bottle down on the table. Slipping into bed, she reached up to turn off her bedside lamp when the gleam of the necklace caught her attention. Smiling, she sat up and picked it up. It was familiar to her, and she quite liked it… Clasping it around her neck once more, she liked the weight and feel of it and decided on wearing it as a daily thing. With a small laugh, she eased herself back into bed before drifting off to sleep.

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A/N: Blah… 'twas kind of short X'D

R&R please~


	13. Masquerade Ball Part I

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Transitionary chapter /o/

Skyla15699: Thank you / LOL YES. YES THEY DID 8D

Shanagi95: xDDD herp derp… I don't blame you ;u; b

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**Chapter Thirteen: Masquerade Ball Part I**

"…Hah…" With a vacant expression on her face, Luna absently stacked the papers on the desk, her mind still stuck on the events of the previous night. As predicted, when she had gone to wake him up this morning, he acted as though nothing had ever happened last night, which, she supposed, nothing actually did happen… There was no reason to dwell on such things, but she had to wonder then; why? What was the point of all of it? Was it merely impulsive drunk behavior? Sighing softly, the whitenette gently shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Standing up now that she had finally finished with her task, sky hues flickered around the room before landing on the clock. _Ah… it's almost noon…_ meaning she had less than half an hour to make Xanxus' steak.

Quickly gathering her things, she left the room and turned left before stopping in her tracks. Suddenly, the hallway seemed so unfamiliar and foreign to her. Where was the kitchen again…? Furrowing her brows in thought, Luna stood there for a few moments before remembering. Turning around, she headed right and then took the next left. Finding the kitchen, she felt both relieved and uneasy. How many times had she walked the same path? More than enough to remember… _Maybe I'm just tired…_ She rationalized. With a mental shrug, she slipped inside and greeted those she passed by on the way to her station.

"Good morning Vincent… Ariel…. Ca—?" Stopping in mid-sentence, Luna found she couldn't remember the man's name despite greeting him each and every morning, this morning included. _…Ca… Cain…? No… Ca… Caleb!_ "Morning Caleb." Smiling apologetically at him, she hurried to her station, a bewildered expression on her face. _What's wrong with me today?_ She wondered silently. Shaking her head, Luna poured out two pills that were meant for her memory and dry swallowed them before she started on the Varia Boss' steak.

Grabbing a twelve ounce sirloin steak, she decided to make it a bit more simple today after all the crap he probably ate and drank yesterday. With black peppercorn and sea salt seasoning, Luna practically threw it onto the grill, satisfied at the sizzling sounds it made the moment it contacted the hot surface. On the side she prepared a rice pilaf and mixed vegetables. Once everything was done, she stuck it on a oval dinner plate, added some garnish and placed it on a trolley. Selecting a vintage red wine to accompany the meal, she assembled everything on the cart and turned to leave.

"My, you're becoming quite the chef." Vincent laughed upon peeking at her dish.

Smiling at him, Luna shrugged, "Having to cook for Xanxus does that to you I guess… He won't eat it if it doesn't look nice or if it doesn't suit his tastes…" She said upon remember the one time when he literally swept the plate off the table so that it shattered on the floor, food and all. It was one of the few times she had done something wrong, and upon seeing him react so aggressively, had decided to learn from her mistakes. With a nod to the man, Luna wheeled the man's meal from the room and started walking to the dining room, earlier unease forgotten. Upon entering, Luna felt an eyebrow raise at how quiet it was. It seemed like most or all of the Varia officers had serious hangovers, most apparently seen as Squalo's head was down on the table and an empty glass of water in his hand.

Suppressing a laugh, she made her way over to Xanxus and slid the plate in front of him before placing the bottle of wine by his cup. She had long since refused to pour it for him, retorting to his glare that she wasn't his servant and that he should be satisfied that she was even making his steak for him. Sliding into her seat to the right of him – Squalo being on the left – Luna beamed at her own lunch, a pulled pork sandwich with fries and coslaw, and dug in happily. Halfway through lunch, Xanxus finally spoke.

"Woman. You're going out tonight."

Turning to look at him curiously, she continued to stare until he made an irritated noise and explained, "We're going to the Luciano Manor tonight."

"…why…?" Up till now, she had never even heard of such a family.

Shooting a glare at her, he growled, "To see if they're a fucking threat or not. It's your job isn't it?"

"Ah." Though she was surprised. If it really was her job, why hadn't she been notified of anything? Deep in thought the whitenette poked her food around, wondering whether this position was just for show or not, because as it seemed now, she hadn't been informed of anything to do with the family or their affairs.

* * *

"…Hmm…" On her bed laid a pile of discarded dresses, having been thrown there when Luna decided it probably wasn't going to suit the occasion. For once in her life, she wished she had Lussuria's sense of fashion. _Maybe I should just go ask him after all…_ Despite trying to put something together for herself, it always looked wrong in the end, as if something was out of place. Perhaps it was the fault of her pendant which she refused to take off. It was something she wanted to wear no matter what, oddly enough. Shaking her head with a small smile, Luna dropped the dress she was currently holding up to herself onto the ground before maneuvering out of the room to find the sun guardian. Walking down the halls, her mind began to wander and the whitenette couldn't help but seriously think about her position in the Vongola. Absently twisting the ring on her finger, she repeated the words the Cervello had spoken to her that day. _I stand alone… Independent of both the Varia and the Vongola… But I have to watch over both? …How am I supposed to do that when I don't even know what's going on…?_

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Luna rounded a corner, too absorbed in her thoughts to notice a figure coming from the opposite direction. It wasn't until she slammed into said person did she snap back to reality. "Wagh!" Rubbing her forehead, the amnesic frowned and stepped back, and apology on her lips as she tried to discern who it was. The long silver hair that tickled her face as she stepped back was a big give away, but before she could say anything, he was already yelling.

"VOIIII WATCH IT WOMAN!" Squalo growled as he stepped back. "USE YOUR EYES."

Grimacing at the volume of his voice, she tugged his hair and pressed a finger to her lips. "Shhhh, there's no need to yell Squalo…" However, this seemed to have the opposite effect, and the Varia captain was about to complain about her treatment of his hair when a finger was pressed to his lips. "Shhh please. I'm trying to think here…"

Seeing the expression on his face made Luna laugh a bit before she drew her hand back, a warm smile on her face. "You know I can hear you just fine Squalo." Grumbling, said man muttered an 'I know' before he sidestepped her. "Do your thinking elsewhere." As he started to leave, Luna peered after him with a strange expression in her eyes, hesitating for a moment before calling out to the man. "Hey… Can I ask you something?"

"…You just did."

Pouting, she mock glared at him before sighing, suddenly unsure of whether this was such a good idea or not. After a few moments of silence, a tick mark appeared on Squalo's forehead. "Out with it woman!"

"…Erm… What am I even supposed to do as the Snow Guardian?" Tentatively raising her gaze to meet the silver haired man's, Luna's brows were furrowed in genuine worry and confusion.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" He deadpanned.

_Urk…_ "Right then…" Turning to leave, Luna stopped when she heard Squalo's voice.

"That's something you have to figure out yourself. It's not something that can be told to you by anyone. I mean, the position you hold means you can do whatever the fuck you like and we have to accept it!" He scowled and crossed his arms. "Get involved. Learn the shit you need to and don't expect anyone to baby you and tell you things."

Silence fell between them after that, allowing Luna to process what he had said. _How…very true…_ A new understanding settled over her, and she felt strangely relieved. About to thank the man, the whitenette was cut off once more by his outburst.

"…NOW STOP BOTHERING ME. I HAVE A FUCKING HANGOVER." Turning on his heel, the rain guardian began to stomp off, muttering profanities under his breath as he did.

"Pfft…" Shaking her head, Luna ran after him and grabbed his hair once more in order to stop him. Tugging it to get his attention, he whipped around to glare at her, a murderous expression on his face. "WHAT PART OF—" This time, Luna cut him off as she pressed her hand to his forehead and let a cold sensation spread through it. Smiling, she chimed, "Thank you Squalo."

Making a noise of contentment as the throbbing was temporarily soothed, he huffed. "Of course." The two stayed like that for a little while longer before footsteps sounded through the hall. Jumping away from her, the Varia captain quickly collected himself and hastily walked past her, a barely audible 'thanks' leaving his lips as he did. Making a small noise of acknowledgement, Luna turned away, about to proceed to her destination when she stopped. _…Where was I going?_

With a puzzled expression on her face, Luna shook her head, her brows furrowed as she tried to recall. When she came up with nothing five minutes later, the amnesic let out a frustrated sigh before reluctantly returning to her room, hoping she'd remember soon. Sure enough, the moment she stepped inside her room with clothes strewn everywhere, her memory was triggered and she groaned before leaving again and going straight to Lussuria's room.

* * *

Five hours of trying dresses, accessories, and shoes on later, Luna, with Lussuria's help, had finally found a decent outfit to wear. In her opinion, the only reason it took so long was because Lussuria kept mumbling something about how she had to match… In the end, it was decided that Luna would be wearing a red, strapless, fishtail dress, and a pair of black strappy heels. Her hair was piled up into an elegant up do with curled strands left loose to frame her face and a jeweled flower hairpiece to match the dress.

"Oh it's perfect~ You'll match fabulously!" Lussuria gushed happily as he stepped back from his work and nodded with approval. "Now take this and off you go~ I'll be right down once I change." Shoving an earpiece into her hand and then shooing her from the room, Luna stared blankly at the closed door for a few moments, an unspoken question on her lips. _Who am I matching?_

With a shake of her head, the whitenette sighed and turned away, attaching the small device to her ear before descending the stairs, every ounce of brain power going towards not tripping over her dress or stumbling down the stairs because of her heels. _This is torture…_ She grumbled silently.

"Keep your head up woman." A voice growled from below. Jumping slightly, Luna whipped her head up to find Xanxus standing at the bottom of the staircase, an irritated look on his face and… in a suit? Staring at him, she wondered if this is what Lussuria meant by 'matching'. The Varia Boss was wearing a black suit with a red vest and accents. Though his tie should have been up against his neck and the buttons buttoned, he opted to keep it loosened and the top three buttons undone. Her eyes only left him when she heard that insufferable voice from beside him.

"How dare you make the boss wait _puttana_." Levi snarled.

Sky hues flickered to him for a split second before sliding away as though she had never seen him before. Ignoring his words, she glanced around, and noted that both Levi and Belphegor were wearing suits. "I take it everyone's coming then…" she murmured. Her speculation was further confirmed when she spotted Squalo leaned against the door frame, an unpleasant expression on his face as he struggled with his tie. "Stupid fucking piece of cloth…" he muttered under his breath.

The sight made her smile a bit, though she didn't comment. Reaching the bottom, Luna peered up at Xanxus who glowered down at her in response. "Your buttons."

"Like hell if I'm going to strangle myself." He snorted.

_Fair enough…_ She thought and shrugged. "Fine fine…" Leaning to the side to look past the sky guardian she called out to the shark, "Need help?"

"LIKE HELL I DO." He yelled in response. Though after another failed attempt and a long string of profanities, Squalo offered no resistance or complaint when the whitenette went over to him and silently tied his tie for him. "There." Stepping back, she nodded in satisfaction just before Lussuria came charging down the stairs. "Let's go go go~ Wouldn't want to be late now would we?" He chimed before flying out the door.

"Right then…" Following after the sun guardian, Luna exited the mansion and stepped inside the limo. _Sorta makes you forget you're in the mafia at these times…_ The 'sorta' was probably because she had a gun strapped to her left calf and several daggers strapped to her right. _Safety first I suppose…_Luna drifted out of her reverie once everyone had piled into the limousine. Once they started driving, Squalo launched into what their plan would be.

"We've received intel that the Lucianos are planning to betray us so we're there to see if it's true." Grinning, he continued, "There have also been rumours that a deal might be happening tonight between them and a rival family; which family that is, is still unknown." As the Varia Captain said this, he shot an uneasy glance at Xanxus who glared back at him.

"Why didn't you find out scum."

"Because no one knows except the head." He grumbled in response.

"Che. Pathetic." Turning away, Xanxus closed his eyes and leaned back into his seat with crossed arms. Squalo took that as the cue to continue and began divvying up the jobs. Mammon and himself were to sneak into the meeting, Mammon using illusions to disguise them both (hence why he wasn't wearing a suit in the first place). Levi and Lussuria were to be hanging around in the vicinity should anything go wrong. Bel would be on the floor talking to others to see if what the rumours said were true, and Xanxus and Luna would do the same, and if it came to it, as Xanxus so eloquently put it, they would 'reassert their fucking authority.'

Clearing his throat, Squalo added one last bit, "And since they didn't exactly invite us… We're going disguised." Opening up a bag, he tossed masks at everyone. "It's perfect since it's a masquerade ball anyways."

"What about invitations…?" Luna asked worriedly as she tied the mask around her head. To that, Squalo snorted, "They're so sure of their network that they think the only people who know about this are allies, so anyone who comes must be 'safe.' They won't bother asking names either since it's a masquerade ball, and the mystery what the whole damn thing's about."

"Alright then…"

Nodding, the rain guardian turned back to the illusionist, "Mammon, alter some of our characteristics so it's not obvious who we are."

"Mu… this is going to cost you." But the baby did it regardless the moment Xanxus aimed his glare at the Arcobaleno.

"If it turns out they're traitors, we're going to wipe out their trash of a family." Xanxus concluded.

They arrived not a moment later, and immediately, everyone snapped to attention. Mammon cloaked himself in illusions, making it as though he were invisible, and at the same time altering minor characteristics of all the Varia members – tone and pitch of voice, hair colour, hair length, etc.

As everyone exited the limo, Luna struggled a bit due to the length of her dress and silently cursed it. Much to her surprise, a hand was extended to her, and she took it without a second thought, thinking it to be Lussuria. Looking up to thank the sun guardian, the words died in her throat upon realizing it was Xanxus. "What's with the look woman? I'm supposed to be your fucking escort. Deal with it." He growled under his breath. Smiling softly, she suppressed a laugh before stepping out.

She never really paid attention before – or maybe it was because she never held his hand before – but it was so much bigger than hers, incredibly warm, and oh so familiar... Then again, that was probably because one, he was a man, two, he shot fireballs from his hands, and three, because she knew them from before losing her memories… Giving said hand a light squeeze, Luna took a deep breath and held her head up, hoping to exude an air of confidence as they walked inside.

At the door, they were greeted by two masked butlers who bowed and with a flourish of their arms welcomed them inside. "Welcome to the Luciano estate, we hope you enjoy your evening here." Stepping aside so they could pass, Xanxus and Luna walked inside. Music, chatter, and pleasant aromas immediately assaulted her senses, and she found herself excited, despite knowing she wasn't here for pleasure.

"Everyone ready?" Said Squalo's unmistakenable voice in her ear. "Mm…" Along with her were five other sounds of approval and after a second of silence, the shark spoke again, giving everyone the okay to start. _Here we go…_ Luna thought nervously. For the Luciano family's sake, she really hoped they weren't planning to betray the Vongola.

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R&R please~ They help keep me motivated x'DDD /dies


	14. Masquerade Ball Part II

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

I won't be updating for two weeks after this one since I'm off on vacation /o/ wooooo!

Skyla15699: Thank you! o/u/o

Huehuehue eue perhaps~ LOL xD agreed

BabyShinji: ikr? Me too…me too ;^;

MusicIsInMySoul: Thanks =D and yes! 83

Shanagi95: oh gosh, she probably wouldn't have even realized/cared x'D indeed they didn't ono

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**Chapter Fourteen: Masquerade Ball Part II**

Almost immediately after Squalo gave them the start signal, Xanxus and Luna were approached by another couple who were wearing half masks like them. "Such a wonderful idea isn't it?" The woman said with a smile, "I think it's such a fun way to meet new people. There's no status or reputation to worry about." Nodding, Luna began to engage in idle chatter with them, "I couldn't agree more. The mysterious aspect makes everything seem more romantic doesn't it? Dear, won't you get some drinks for our lovely friends?" Nudging Xanxus, Luna hoped they'd be able to cover more ground this way and after a moment, the man nodded and left. "I'm sorry, he's not much of a loquacious lover I'm afraid."

"Not at all, I know exactly what you mean." Giving a dramatic sigh, she waved off her own partner, "Why not let the ladies talk for a bit darling." Linking arms with Luna, the woman began walking with her around the room. In a lowered voice she began to speak, "I've heard that our dear host this evening is quite the silent one as well. So stiff too. I feel bad for his wife." She giggled softly. "Oh?" Raising a brow, Luna's mind frantically tried to think of a way to steer the conversation towards the Vongola. "That must make business awfully difficult don't you think?"

"Oh yes. But as rumour has it…" Pausing, the woman glanced around for a moment, "…Perhaps we should continue this outside?" Agreeing, the two walked through the crowd, politely declining offers to dance as they made their way outside. Once there, the woman continued, "Rumour has it that their business partners have changed now, if you know what I mean." Winking she pressed a finger to her lips, "But that's our secret alright?" Nodding, Luna did her best to look surprised, "From V to M I hear." She tried to say casually.

That made the woman stiffen for a second, almost unnoticeable if Luna hadn't been watching for it. "Maybe… I don't know." She said with a wave of her hand. "You should know we're not supposed to talk about that here. Don't you remember?" Now it was Luna's turn to go rigid and she quickly laughed it off, "I'm sorry, I guess my curiosity got the better of me…" She hoped that would appease the woman, and indeed it did, much to her relief. "Alright…" Clearing her throat, the woman turned to leave, "I must find my partner now, ta ta~"

Once she was out of sight, Luna let out a groan. _That was close…_ At least now she knew it wasn't a good idea to blatantly talk about it… But in that case, how were they supposed to gather any information? The only thing the whitenette had managed to confirm was that there was a rumour about the betrayal. Mulling over her thoughts, Luna had a mini heart attack when a growl sounded in her ear. "Where the hell are you woman?" Groaning, she had kind of forgotten about the angry man. "I was talking to someone on the balcony…" she muttered. "I'm coming back now."

If he replied, she missed it, for the moment Luna re-entered the room, she was swept away onto the dance floor in the arms of some random man. "Wagh! What are you doing?!" She protested. "You looked so sour milady. It's a ball tonight, and you should be enjoying yourself." Grumbling silently, Luna knew she couldn't afford to break away, lest she attract unwanted attention to herself. With a resigned sigh, she allowed him to lead her across the dance floor, weaving between the other dancers with practiced ease. "If I may, a lady such as yourself must have come with an escort?" He murmured into her ear. With a tight smile, she gave a tiny nod, "Yes…" Something about this man was unsettling, familiar, like she knew him, but things about him were off, as though they were slightly warped… much like how Mammon had warped their characteristics.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Luna tried to find one of the members of the Varia in the crowd as she was twirled around like a ballerina. "Miss, could it be you're looking for your escort?" The man chuckled.

"Eh? Oh um… yes. I don't want him to get the wrong idea…" The whitenette lied.

"I'm sure he won't mind losing just one dance." Pulling her against him, he led her to the centre of the dance floor before leaning in to whisper. "Thank you for the dance Luna."

Alarm flashed in her eyes, and the snow guardian jerked away from him, "How—!" The rest of her words were lost when an explosion sounded above. Tearing her attention away from the man for a split second, Luna looked up in time to see chunks of the ceiling come falling down on her. _Shatter!_ Freezing and destroying them, she swore under her breath. Not only was her cover blown now, but the man was nowhere to be found.

All around her, the other guests started to smile, each drawing weapons. _…was this a trap…?_ Above her a voice boomed across the room, "Varia, so nice of you to join us tonight." On the second floor landing, the man she had just danced with was smiling down on them, "I do hope you enjoy our hospitality." With a flourish of his hands, he continued, "Shall we begin the true party?"

No sooner had he finished speaking did chaos ensue. Mammon dropped the illusions on the members and concentrated on taking out those nearest him. Shots rang out, and Luna dropped to the ground, her hands freezing the floor around her so that people slipped. Freezing their limbs so they couldn't attack, she got back up, drawing her gun in the process. Fighting through the crowd, she spotted a head of silver hair and changed her path over to where he was, hoping to get some kind of explanation as to what was going on. Behind her, heat radiated onto her back as a fireball scorched its way through those fighting against Xanxus. The smell of burning flesh made her gag, and Luna pressed a hand over her nose and mouth in an attempt to block it out.

"Going somewhere?" Half turning in response to the voice, Luna dropped to the ground to evade a fist aimed at her face. Firing at his chest, she tsked upon hearing nothing but clicks. _Just my luck…_ Tossing aside her empty gun, the whitenette rolled to the side and to her feet in order to avoid the leg that came towards her. Encasing her hand in ice, much like a sword, she ducked under his right hook and thrust it her hand into the man's chest. She could feel her heart hammering against her chest as warm blood flowed down her arm, the adrenaline of the kill flowing through her body.

Even though she should have been used to it by now, killing someone always seemed so unreal, and Luna stood there dazed for a moment, staring at the man as he slid to the ground, a gaping hole in his chest and glassy eyes staring up at her, forever unseeing.

"VOI! PAY ATTENTION DAMMIT!" Whipping her head up in surprise, Luna stood there unflinchingly as a sword was thrust past her cheek and into an unnoticed opponent behind her with a sickening squelch. A gurgle was heard before Squalo ripped the blade from the man's throat, his scowling face just inches away from hers. "Don't stand here like some stupid doll, you're gonna get yourself killed." He hissed. Turning away, he growled, "And don't expect me to save your sorry ass ever again."

"Ah… yeah, thanks Squalo…" Luna said with a small smile. The man waved her off before he jumped back into the action, a crazed grin on his face as he gutted his opponents. _So much for asking him now..._

"Ushishishi." _…that can't be good…_ Dashing to the side, Luna was just a hair's breadth away from being turned into a target. "Bel…" There was no point in telling him to watch it, because he had probably done that on purpose. "The merchant should be more attentive."

"Yes yes…" She grumbled. Hoping to get farther away from them, Luna decided to go after the masked man. The rest of the Varia were more than capable of handling everyone in the ballroom. Besides, she was supposed to make her own judgments right? And as of now, her gut was telling her that that man, if not caught, would wreak a hell of a lot more havoc. Kicking off her heels, Luna gathered up her dress and ran towards the second floor landing where the man last was. With hands alight with ice flames, she burned her way over there, leaving a trail of shattering ice corpses behind her. Ascending the double staircase, Luna ignored Squalo's yelling from behind her asking what the hell she was doing. Slipping through the French doors, Luna jumped when they slammed shut behind her, leaving the girl surrounded in total darkness.

"Luna, Luna, Luna…" A velvet voice cooed softly, "Won't you dance with me?" Stiffening, the whitenette felt her skin tingle as frost covered her, the slightest change in temperature or wind registering to her senses. "…!" Twisting to the side, she winced when something sliced her cheek before embedding itself into the wall behind her. "Oh?" Tsking, Luna felt her heart nearly jump out of chest when a finger brushed against her wound. "Silly me, I apologize for harming a lady's face." Slashing horizontally with her ice encased arm, she slowly moved forward, carefully listening for any signs of his approach. But… if he had done what he had now, she would have no way of sensing him. The thought made her stomach twist, and instead, she switched tactics. Lighting the whole place up with ice flames, steely blue hues scanned the room before narrowing. _There!_ With a sweep of her arm, several spikes of ice soared through the air and buried themselves into the man. Or at least, they should have.

Hearing the dull thunk, Luna knew he wasn't there at all, only his coat. In that instant of realization, there was a hand on her wrist and a knife at her throat. Her back was pressed into his chest, and for the first time, she realized how vulnerable she was. "You left your back open." He hummed. "Such beautiful flames, it's a pity you don't know how to use them." As he spoke, her flames began to extinguish until the room was once again cloaked in darkness. _Im-impossible!_

"…What…? What are you talking about? What did you just do?" She said, though her voice came out no more than a whisper. Whatever he did left her drained, as though putting out the flames had also sapped her energy. It nearly took all her remaining strength to stay upright. The blade against her neck shifted slightly and a thumb stroked her cheek, "There's so much you could learn… Why not come with me? I'll teach you all there is to know." He murmured against her ear.

His words completely caught her off guard and for a few moments Luna's mind raced, trying to find something to say. As it was, she estimated she only had enough energy to generate the flames one more time, and that was pushing it… However, it appeared he had no intention of hurting her at the moment and thus Luna decided this was a good chance to find out more. "Are you the Moretti's boss…?" She asked quietly. "Maybe." He replied in a light, teasing voice. Twitching at his ambiguity, she continued to press it, "What do you have against the Vongola?" To that, his grip on her tightened ever so slightly, though his voice betrayed nothing as he replied, "Many things. You would too if you knew their bloody history."

Furrowing her brows, Luna made a mental note to check that up once she got away. About to ask another question, she was cut off by his soft voice, "Your mother misses you, you know?" Her words died in her throat at that and she finally forced out, "She's not my mother." Tsking softly, her captor shook his head, "Maybe not your blood related mother but she still loves you like one. Laura took care of you for eight years Luna. No matter what you say, you can't deny you loved her." Trembling ever so slightly in his grasp, the man smiled, though it went unseen by Luna. Letting go of her wrist, he tucked a letter her hand. "At least read what she has to say."

The sky hued girl didn't have any time to reply or react as in the next moment there was a deafening explosion that shook the ground. Losing her balance, Luna fell to the side, expecting the man to fall with her. Instead, there was no one, only his voice as he disappeared. "Think about what I said…" Carefully picking herself up, Luna looked around in a daze, the sudden light streaming into the formerly dark room disorienting and blinding her as shouts and shots became known to her ringing ears.

Before she even stood up, there was a rough yank on her arm that hauled her to her feet and Luna found herself staring into a pair of crimson hues that burned into her. "We're leaving." He growled. "X-Xanxus…" Coughing a bit from the smoke, she allowed herself to be dragged from the room. "Wha-what're you doing here?" She asked lamely. "You took too fucking long." Turning to glare at her, smoldering hues took in the cut on her cheek and neck before traveling down past the letter in her hand to her bare feet. Following his gaze, Luna quickly tucked the letter away, not wanting it to be confiscated just yet. When his gaze reached her feet, she shrugged, "I can't run in heels…"

"BOSS WE HAVE TO GO!" Squalo shouted over the cacophony of screams and explosions. The ground rocked once more and pieces of the ceiling dropped on them. Throwing an arm over her head, Luna glanced at Xanxus before she started running and jumping lithely over the debris. Behind her she could somehow hear Xanxus' voice despite the rest of the noise, "Use your power woman." Throwing him a glance over her shoulder, she shook her head, "I can't… I don't have enough energy…" To this, Xanxus' eyes widened fractionally before he scowled, "What the fuck?"

"It's because—XANXUS!" Instinctively, her body moved towards the man instead of away and Luna jumped past the sky guardian, her gaze fixated on the man aiming a gun at his back. Her instincts were screaming that whatever bullets were in that gun were bad news and using the last of her energy, Luna threw up several walls of ice and ice flame behind the man just as his finger pulled the trigger.

Just like with Xanxus' gun, what came out wasn't a bullet, instead it was a swirling, rainbow mass of flames. When the attack hit her wall, Luna gritted her teeth as she used every fiber of her being to keep the walls up. The first three layers had already perished, her current ice flame too weak to neutralize the various flames trying to break through. Energy depleted limbs shook from the exertion and though the psychological battle seemed to be long, in reality, the flames died away after a few seconds. To both Luna's horror and relief, only one wall was still standing. _That's…no good…_ She thought as she sank to the ground. _Augh…_ Staring down at her trembling hands, the whitenette tried, unsuccessfully, to stand up again. Looking up, her eyes widened when the man fired two more shots at them.

From behind her a gun entered her periphery view and fired off a volley of fireballs, effectively destroying the opposing attack in the blink of an eye. "Che, don't go doing things if you're too weak to handle it." Xanxus snarled down at her. Blinking, she ended up laughing, much to Xanxus' annoyance. "Thank you." She said with a smile. Rolling his eyes, Xanxus turned away and walked out. _I take it he's leaving me here then…_ She thought with a sigh. No sooner had she thought that did a pair of arms envelop her and lift her up bridal style. "Oh Luna-chan, I was so worried!"

"Luss-nee…" Smiling up at him tiredly, Luna wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks for carrying me…" She mumbled. "Of course~ Now you just get your beauty sleep sweetie, Luss-nee will take care of everything else." The sun guardian said in a sing song voice as he carried the whitenette out of the crumbling estate. "Mm… Not yet…" Burying her head in the crook of his neck, Luna yawned and fought off sleep. "I wanna know what happened…"

"Alright then." Once their ride had arrived, Luna forced herself to stay awake as she listened to each member, starting with the rain guardian. "There was no meeting in the first place. We followed the intel to the room, and for a while they talked like it was the real thing, but then they attacked the moment the first explosion went off. This was a fucking set up!" Belphegor spoke up not longer after, "I encountered the first explosion when I went to the second floor to snoop around. The peasants have poor taste ushishi."

Levi spoke up then, "That means someone must have tipped them off." He turned his glare to a half asleep Luna as he spoke and pointed an umbrella at her threateningly. "Don't think I didn't notice _puttana_, you were dancing with the perpetrator right before the explosion. Then you went after him once the chaos started. Boss, I bet she's a spy."

To that, all gazes turn to Luna who had more or less woken up now, thanks to Levi's voice and umbrella. "If you didn't notice, that guy nearly had me buried underneath the falling ceiling."

"A ploy to make yourself look innocent!" He countered with a sneer.

"…Leviathan… I'm seriously getting fed up with your stupidity." Luna's voice was nothing more than a whisper, but it was clearly heard through the limousine. "Maybe it's time for the Varia to get a new thunder guardian." Bringing her gaze up to meet his, Luna's hues turned into a steely blue once more. It seemed like anger helped to give her an energy boost and in her palm a ball of swirling white-blue flame began to materialize. With it came a drastic temperature drop to the point where the windows frosted up.

"Not in the car!" Lussuria suddenly interrupted. "Levi, stop provoking Luna-chan, the Cervello have already approved her. Luna-chan, Levi's just trying to explore every possibility alright?"

Though she was still angry, Luna let the flame dissipate, though she threw Levi a glare, "Every possibility to turn me into a spy you mean. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're the most suspicious Leviathan. Not only do you have nothing worthwhile to report but you were watching me the entire time?"

"You—!" About to lunge forward at her, a deep throated growl stopped him.

"Sit down trash." The temperature inside the limousine rose for a second before dropping again when Levi sat down. "But Boss!"

"Shut it scum. Are you telling me you were so fixated on Luna that you couldn't even do your fucking job properly?" He sneered at the man.

Watching with satisfaction, Luna was surprised when Xanxus had used her name but said nothing of it. Turning her attention back to the window, she half listened as the thunder guardian apologized and spewed out a bunch of other crap to appease his 'precious boss.'

"Woman. What were you doing with that man?" Xanxus finally turned his glare to her, and after a few moments, Luna turned her attention to him. "Mm… He grabbed me when I came back in and wouldn't let me go until I danced with him. Then after the explosion I went after him and he…" Thinking back, she wasn't really sure what he did… "He… ate my flames." The whitenette purposely skipped over everything else because some of it wasn't meant for the Varia to know, like the letter.

"He _ate_ your flames?!" Squalo stood up and reached across to grab Luna's shoulders, his eyes wild. "Are you sure?" Furrowing her brows in bewilderment she looked up at him. "No I'm not sure. But he put them out like they were nothing and afterwards it was like… it felt like I just ran around the world." To that, a predatory grin stretched across Squalo's face and he started laughing.

"Spill it shitty shark." Xanxus spoke everyone's silent thoughts. Said male's grin only widened and he nodded. "Ever heard of _Diavolo_? It's the nickname of the Moretti's head. It means that she's just made contact with our elusive target. But what I'm more interested in is why you're still alive." _Eh?!_ Looking up at Squalo, the male was gazing at her like she was some sort of rare specimen. "He doesn't like people to know anything about him, and those who do are effectively disposed of. Because of that, any info on him is limited, so much that we don't even know what his flame type is, other than the fact that it's capable of draining the energy of others. So the fact that you're alive is strange." To that, Luna had no answer, indeed, why was she still alive…?

The Varia captain paused for a moment before he continued, "So either you're working for the Moretti, or he wants something from you."

"You see Boss, she's a Moretti spy!" Levi crossed his arms smugly.

"…stupid…" Luna sighed as she gazed out the window.

"What did you say?!"

"I said you're stupid Leviathan. Do you think Xanxus wouldn't notice if I was a spy? I practically spend every day doing his work for him you know. He has more than enough chances to keep tabs on me. Unless of course… you're doubting your god?"

"Bitch, if you—"

"Oh wait," Luna cut him off, "You don't think. My bad." Apologetically waving her hand in his general direction, the whitenette hid her smile, though she did hear the prince's familiar laughter. "The merchant has a point."

"You...! HOW DARE YOU MAKE A FOOL OF ME!" Electricity filled the air as Levi aimed an umbrella towards the girl, angry veins throbbing in his forehead.

"Shut it you piece of shit." Heat was soon added to the atmosphere as a growing flame of wrath was swirling in Xanxus' palm.

"But Boss, she—"

"I said, shut it." The raven haired male snarled menacingly. The flame engulfed his entire hand and Xanxus was about to let it fly, fed up with the stupid bickering when a hand reached over and covered the flame. "Don't set the car on fire Xanxus." Turning to his left, he found Luna smiling up at him, and oddly enough, the heat in his hand was dissipating, replaced with a cool sensation.

"LUNA YOUR HAND!" Lussuria shrieked. "BOSS, YOU'RE BURNING HER!" Indeed, to everyone else, it appeared that Luna's hand was on fire, but to the two involved, that wasn't the case at all. Slowly, the red, yellow, and orange flames were burned away by a white-blue one before disappearing altogether, and with it, so did Xanxus' irritation. "Che." Shaking off the whitenette's hand, the Varia boss crossed his arms and turned his glare onto the other members, a clear sign that the conversation was over.

Luna stared curiously at her own hand, not knowing why she did that. _I could have just lost my hand..._ _No... I wouldn't have... I don't know how I know that, but I do._ Frowning, she looked over to Xanxus, though she knew she wouldn't be getting any explanation from him. Heck, he didn't even look a tad bit fazed, unlike the rest of the Varia.

That was because Xanxus and Xanxus alone was indeed unsurprised. He knew what Luna's flame was capable of. Closing his eyes, he recalled back to when they had first met.

_"Xanxus? Come here, I want you to meet someone." An elderly old man said with a smile. Turning, a young boy with blood red eyes frowned, his expression already a scowl even though he had no idea who this 'someone' was. "Why." He wasn't going to make this easy for them. It was always the same, Timoteo would always try to get him to play with other children, but every time, the moment he showed them his flame of wrath, they run away screaming that he was the devil's spawn or some stupid shit like that._

_Timoteo continued to smile and even chuckled a bit. "Because she'll be staying with us from now on." The brunette snorted at that, "I bet she won't last long." The elderly man had a knowing twinkle in his eyes, "We'll see. Luna, you can come out now." From behind Timoteo's legs, a head peeked out, her hands still clinging to the man's pants as she timidly peered at the boy before her. Gently detaching her from his clothing, Vongola Nono ushered her forward so that the two children were standing face to face. _

_"Be nice Xanxus." He said in a slightly warning voice. He was well aware of what his son had done to the other children, and while he knew they'd find out one day, Xanxus' method of showing them was overkill. "Have fun." With a final smile, Timoteo made his way back into the Vongola mansion._

_"Hello, it's nice to meet you," She said with a tentative smile and gave him an awkward curtsy. Xanxus didn't reciprocate the greeting, instead, he turned and began to walk away, as if she wasn't even there. With a confused frown, Luna followed after, wondering if perhaps she had already done something wrong. Just as she reached out to catch his arm, he spun around and thrust his hand in her face, igniting it as he did. Heat radiated against her face, and Luna flinched involuntarily, taking a small, surprised step back. _

_"Spineless." He snorted and started to turn away when two small hands reached out and grabbed his flaming one. Whipping around, he growled, "Are you crazy?! You'll-!" The word 'burn' died on his lips as he watched in wonder at the hands grasping his. It was completely unaffected by his flame, and soon, he became aware of a cool sensation filling his hand, taking over the heat that came with his flame of wrath. Mixed with his red flame was a white-blue one that was slowly and seemingly assimilating his flame into its own, until finally, his hand was engulfed in a white-blue fire that left him with a sense of tranquility instead of his usual anger and resentment. _

_"We're the same, see?" She smiled softly at that before letting go of his hand. Immediately afterwards, the flames turned back to red before he extinguished them. "Hell no. You're even freakier than me." He retorted. "A flame that negates another flame? Creepy." But despite that, he was feeling happier inside. This was the first time someone hadn't run off screaming bloody murder, this was the first time he had met someone like him. _

_To his comment, the whitenette laughed, her voice clear and melodious. "I guess I am. Does this mean you're afraid of me now?" Something flickered in those sky blue hues of her. Something that he had seen too many times reflected in his own. She was afraid that he would shun her, just as he had been cast out by others. She too had experienced what it was like to be marginalized, isolated, hated. It occurred to him then, that her earlier words were so much more accurate that he would ever have believed. _

_"It takes a lot more than a freaky flame to scare me." He smirked at her, and in return, she gave him such a bright and happy smile that he had to avert his eyes. How could she smile like that after being mistreated by society for so long? How could she still find something to smile for? "I'm glad..." She said clapping her hands together, her eyes expressing all that words could not. "I'm so, so glad."_

_After a moment, the whitenette cleared her throat and she stepped closer to him. Regarding her curiously, Xanxus was momentarily taken aback when she curtsied introduced herself again, though more confidently this time. "Hi, my name's Luna, it's nice to meet you."_

_A slow grin spread across Xanxus' face and crossed his arms. "Same. The name's Xanxus, the next Vongola head."_

* * *

A/N: meep… it's a bit longer since I won't be updating in a while x'D

R&R please ;u;


	15. A Topsy Turvy Day

Title: Our Bloodstained Bonds

Author: x Artemisia x

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the story and my oc

A/N:

Yikes I haven't updated in a while, sorry about that… x.x

Uni's about to start soon, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to, probs when I settle in and get the hang of things ;u; b

Skyla15699: ahaha ikr? It's like there's mutual hatred of Levi in fanfics x'D

Oh my gosh oxo you're right!

BabyShiniji: I'm glad you thought so~ ^^

LaughterGirl: Thank you! 8D

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: A Topsy Turvy Day**

It had been a few days since the ball, and the Varia had been busy gathering intelligence since then. Most of the time, Luna opted not to go, instead doing her best to learn everything there was to know about the Vongola, Varia, and their histories. At first, she didn't want anything to do with it at all, having been forced into the position of the Snow Guardian in the first place. Yet, slowly, she found she liked it here, that being part of a family like this wasn't so bad after all.

Sure, the Varia still got on her nerves, some members more than others, as did some members of the Vongola, but in the end, family still over came everything, even Xanxus' hatred of Tsunayoshi. It was amazing if you asked her, and it was probably then that she decided she wanted to protect this.

That said, the history itself proved to be incredibly interesting so the whitenette didn't mind spending hours in the library, reading up on every event that that transpired before her time. But… Nowadays, it seemed she often became sidetracked, like now.

Currently, Luna was busy staring out the window with a faraway expression on her face, her eyes unfocussed as she gazed at the birds fluttering around in the sky, at the clouds that floated around in a carefree fashion. Though she had come here this morning with the purpose of reading about Vongola Primo, somehow, she just couldn't focus and ended up staring at the sky in a dazed manner.

Sighing for the umpteenth time, the sky hued female finally had a break from her trance when she spotted a familiar limousine pull up at the front gates. _They're back…_ She thought and straightened. Whipping around to look at the clock on the wall, Luna did a double take upon realizing she had zoned out for almost four hours. _Crap!_ She had meant to read for an hour only before going and finishing up some paperwork. Even though it was really Xanxus' job, she knew the man would sooner burn it all than do it.

Leaving her books in a heap on the table, Luna practically flew from the room, down the hall, and into Xanxus' study. Grabbing all the papers, she was about to run from the room when familiar footsteps sounded down the hall. _Too late…_ Unable to make her escape now, Luna hurriedly took a seat and began working on them as quickly as possible, only managing to get through three of the documents when the door swung open and a bloody Xanxus stepped into the room.

Looking up at him, Luna offered the brunette a small smile and tilted her head curiously, as if to ask why he was in such a state. "I thought the mission this time was merely surveillance…" She began.

This earned her a snort from the male, and he replied, "Fucking trash thought they could fool us. They already knew we'd be there." Grabbing a bottle of tequila, he turned to leave the room before abruptly turning back around to glare at the pile of papers on the desk, "Why haven't you finished yet woman."

_Of course he notices…_ She grumbled silently. Sighing, she gave him a pointed look, "I'll do them if I have time Xanxus. You should be happy I'm doing it at all."

This earned her another glare, and he opened his mouth to say something else when Belphegor came in. "Merchant… The Prince distinctly remembers telling you to have the chess set ready for his return, no? So why isn't it there?"

"…Did you really…?" Luna stared at him blankly as he spoke, wracking her brain for such a thing. Furrowing her brows in thought, she barely heard him speak again, "Ushishishi… the merchant needs to be punished." Only realizing what he said when she sensed knives flying at her head. Flicking her gaze up at them, her eyes flashed dangerously for a second, changing into a steely blue and back to their normal sky blue in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the knives were engulfed in white-blue flames, shattering in a matter of seconds as they burned into nothingness.

"Eh?" Bel was surprised at how much she had improved in the manner of a few days, and frowned, unable to have his fun anymore. "Boring…" he muttered finally before leaving the room. He still wouldn't acknowledge Luna because as long as she remained an amnesic, she wasn't the Luna he knew.

Now it was just Luna and Xanxus again, and he gave her a strange look before speaking, "Hurry up and finish." With that, he turned and left as well, slamming the door shut behind him. "Slave driver…" Luna said under her breath. Nonetheless, she complied, and finished up the paperwork within the next hour.

Stretching when she had finally completed the last of it, the whitenette stood up, happy that she was now free to go. Yet, just as she stepped from the room, she was swept up by Lussuria. "LUNAAA, WHY DIDN'T YOU PICK UP MY PACKAGE?" He looked absolutely frantic as he shook her. "I told you it'd be here two days ago, why didn't you pick it up? Now I'm being charged a late fee and Mammon's furious with me!"

_Oh my goodness…_ Realizing she had completely forgotten about it up until this point, Luna began to apologize profusely and ended up going with Lussuria to pick it up as well as to pay for the late fee since it was her fault in the first place. "I'm really sorry…" she mumbled for the tenth time, a troubled expression on her face. Truly, she hadn't meant to forget about these things, but lately, lately it seemed like everything was so jumbled up in her mind. Dates were getting mixed up, names forgotten, even tasks…

With a sigh, the green haired male patted Luna's head. "Fine fine, I accept your apology. You did pay for the late fee after all, so it's all good." He winked at the end before realizing Luna wasn't even listening to him. "Luna-chan?" Waving his hand in front of her face, Luna blinked a few times, snapping out of her daze. "Ah, yes?"

"Is everything alright…?"

"Oh…" Luna wondered if she should tell Lussuria about what was worrying her, but then… would he just pass it off as being forgetful? Sure, there was that… but something seemed wrong… "I'm… I just feel a bit out of it…" She finally said with a strained smile.

"Uh huh…" He said doubtfully. However, the sun guardian didn't press it, and for that, Luna was grateful. _Maybe I'll go visit Giovanni…_ Her check up wasn't supposed to be until next week, but going early couldn't hurt either… "Hey Luss-nee, can you go back without me? I'm gonna head to the doctor's real quick, okay?"

"Hm? Okay…"

Waving good bye, Luna headed off towards the Vongola hospital.

* * *

"Sorry for the wait _principessina_." Giovanni apologized as he took a seat. He had brought some tea as well and poured Luna a generous cup.

"Not at all, I should apologize for coming unannounced." Taking a sip, the whitenette smiled at the taste. "Lavender?" This earned her a nod from the doctor as he elaborated, "It seemed you were troubled… Tell me, how may I be of service?"

Hesitating, Luna placed the teacup down, struggling to find where to start. "Well… recently… my memory's not getting any better. I think it's actually getting worse…" She said slowly. "Not just that, but I think I'm becoming more spacey…"

To that, Giovanni frowned, "And you're taking the medicine I prescribed you?" Nodding vigorously, Luna said quickly, "Yes, I haven't missed a single dose surprisingly… I keep a bottle on me so that it's hard to forget."

"I see…" Rubbing his chin, the doctor had a pensive expression on his face as he took another sip of tea. Doing the same, Luna watched him worriedly. Was there something wrong perhaps? Just as she thought that, Giovanni spoke up again.

"Perhaps… it's just because you've been overwhelmed recently. I heard about what happened at the recent ball. Not only that, but you've had a lot to digest haven't you." He smiled sympathetically at her and reached over to stroke her head. "I mean, not long ago, you were living the life of a student, and now… now you're expected to protect an entire family, a mafia family at that."

Being treated so gently made Luna want to unload all her uncertainties, to have him reassure her that everything would be just fine, but she knew that was stupid. She wasn't the type to do so either. Murmuring her agreement, sky hues dropped to the cup, as if it had suddenly become very interesting, though she still paid close attention to his words.

"My suggestion would be to take a break. I hear living with the Varia can be quite stressful, no?" He chuckled and gave her a knowing look, to which Luna nodded. Raising her gaze back up to meet his, she replied, "Where do you suggest I go then…?"

"…Hn… How about to Japan? It'll be completely different than Italy, and at the same time, you can meet Tsunayoshi and his guardians." That… actually seemed like a pretty good idea. It was something she had to do anyways, and now that the chance had arisen, why not? Feeling a bit better, she stood up, about to thank him when Giovanni caught her hand.

"But… That's not the only reason you're here is it." It wasn't a question, and the way he looked at her almost seemed like he was peering into her soul. "I do remember telling you that you can come to me whenever you need help _principessina._" He said with a warm smile.

After a moment, Luna sat back down and began fiddling with her cup. Silence settled between them in which the doctor patiently waited for the amnesic to speak. "At… the ball…" Involuntarily, Luna's hand slipped into her bag and sought out the envelope, as if to reconfirm its existence. "A man gave me a letter from my mother…" The word sounded strange on her tongue since Squalo had told her that her biological mother was dead, yet, from the time she had woken up memory-less, Laura had been as much of a mother to her as she believed her biological one was, and had since accepted the middle aged woman to be such.

"But, she's not my real mother… still… she cared for me like I was her daughter, and I can't bring myself to believe that everything was a lie, even if she's a Moretti…" Even though Luna didn't doubt that Laura had ties to the Moretti, what benefit would she have to saving the life of the future snow guardian. If anything, wouldn't it have been better to have killed her on sight and while she was vulnerable? Pulling out the letter from her bag, Luna placed it on the table and glued her gaze to it as she continued to speak.

"Yet… I can't bring myself to read it or destroy it. I feel like I shouldn't read it since as a Vongola Guardian, the family comes first, and if I do, I'd compromise that by letting personal feelings interfere. I have no doubt I'll be impacted by what's written there, and if I get so caught up in it that I can't do my job properly… That'd be shameful. But at the same time, I can't bring myself to hate her and think her to be my enemy, and I want to know why she's sent me a letter…" Memories of the woman's smiling face surfaced, of Laura taking care of her when she was ill, of reprimanding her when she stuffed her face or did something to worry her. They baked, shopped, laughed, cried, and lived together… Luna loved her like a real mother, and her chest twisted painfully whenever she thought that maybe Laura had been planning for this to happen.

Too absorbed in her memories, Luna hadn't realized her vision had become blurry, and something wet was on her cheeks. "Oh…" Surprise flitted across her face as she became aware of what was happening, and the whitenette scrambled to wipe the tears away. Before she had a chance to, a warm hand touched her cheek and began to gently catch her tears as they fell. Looking up, she wasn't sure how to react upon seeing the sadness, understanding, and warmth in the doctor's eyes. "_Principessina_… I can't tell you what to do since I have no right to, but from being around women and their children, I highly doubt your mother would have been unaffected by your time together. Living together with someone for eight years is bound to leave its mark, and it's definitely not easy to keep up a façade for that long. Because of that, I feel that she held genuine love and affection for you. Just keep that in mind when you make your decision."

His words did have a point she supposed, though there was still hesitation in her heart. What she was most afraid of was the desire to return to her old life after this; to yearn for something that was no longer possible. Finally steeling herself, Luna decided that she would probably regret it for a long time if she didn't at least read it, and would always wonder what the contents were. Breaking the wax seal, the whitenette eased the cream coloured letter out and unfolded it, a feeling of nostalgia washing over her when she laid eyes on familiar penmanship.

_Luna, my little angel,_

_ How have you been these past few months? When you didn't come home from school that day, I feared the worse for you. Yet, when I found out that you were living with the Varia, my unease didn't go away. Please don't get me wrong, what I'm concerned about is that you're a young lady living in a house full of men, and violent ones too. Please take care of yourself Luna, get plenty of rest, eat well, and don't let them force you into anything you don't want._

_ By now, I think you've already learned that I'm part of the Moretti family. I feel no shame in saying that, and I don't believe that the feud between the Vongola and the Moretti should impact us so much. Even though they are my Famiglia, you are my daughter. Does a mother need a reason to worry about her daughter? Ever since I found you eight years ago, I have loved you as a daughter, and to find out that you are now in an opposing family does not mean I love you any less. You are still you, and that will never change._

_ I can understand if you wish to cut ties with me Luna, but please know that I will always be wishing for your wellbeing. I love you my little angel._

_ Laura _

At first, she had expected that Laura would try to coerce her into joining the Moretti, or to guilt her into leaving the Vongola, but this, _this_ was not what she had expected. Completely unprepared for what the letter held, Luna stared at it in silence for a few moments longer, fresh tears staining her cheeks before she noticed something strange with the paper. In several spots, the paper was wrinkled and in some places the ink ran, as though water had been dripped onto it. No… not water, tears. With trembling fingertips, Luna touched the now dry spots, a tiny smile on her face. _So mamma was cry when she wrote this…_

Taking a few deep breaths, Luna wiped her tears away and looked up to Giovanni. "Thank you Giovanni." Folding up the letter and tucking it back into her bag, Luna stood up, as did the brunette. "It was my pleasure _principessina_, I hope you're feeling better now." Nodding, she smiled up at him and allowed him to lead her from the room. "Now, please do take my advice and take a break from the Varia. Don't forget to take your medication, and if anything changes while you're in Japan, please don't hesitate to call." As he spoke, he handed her a black card with his name and number on it.

"Thank you once again." Luna said as she took the card. "Of course." Placing a soft kiss on her back of her hand, the doctor watched as the whitenette left the hospital, a warm smile on his face.

* * *

"Xanxus… you here?" Knocking on his door, Luna poked her head in and quickly located the Varia boss as he lounged in his chair. Slipping inside despite hearing no consent, she was relieved when he didn't throw his glass of alcohol at her, merely glaring when she neared him. "What do you want?" _Oh hey… he's cut back on swearing too._ She thought happily, though, now wasn't exactly the best time to be musing over his lack of profanities. "I'm going to Japan for a while, just thought I should let you know…"

To that, he raised a brow, a look of displeasure in his eyes, "Why the fuck would you go there?"

_And the swearing's back…_ "Because of doctor's orders…? Oh and I figured it'd be a good chance to meet Tsunayoshi and his guardians."

This earned her a snort before Xanxus downed the rest of his brandy, "Don't waste your time." Sighing, Luna frowned at him, "Well… I'm still going anyways. Try not to kill too many chefs while I'm gone okay?" Giving him a pointed look, Luna turned to leave, but a growl told her she wasn't dismissed yet. "…What." Spinning on her heel to face him, the whitenette felt her heart do a small flip at the smothering intensity of his gaze and instantly felt defensive. "What?" She asked again, though in a smaller voice this time.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked lowly.

"Nothing…" Luna lied. No sooner had the word left her mouth did his glass sail past her head and shatter against the door.

"I said: _What's fucking wrong with you_?"

Well… when he became oh so convincing, lying was no longer an option. Sighing, Luna crossed her arms before she spoke. "…my memory's getting worse, okay? So Gio—Doctor Giovanni suggested a change of environment would help… Happy?"

Xanxus' eyes narrowed fractionally when he caught her slip up, "When'd you get so close to the trash?"

_...uh…_How was she supposed to answer that? "Well… during my stay he told me not to call him 'doctor' so I ended up just calling him by his name…"

"…Hn." Closing his eyes, the sky guardian seemed like he was dismissing her. But with him, you never knew. "Xanxus?" When she heard no replied from the man, Luna took a few steps towards him and tugged on his sleeve before repeating his name, "Xanxus?" About to draw away, a hand wrapped around her wrist, keeping her in place as said male finally opened his eyes, a different emotion present within them. Though there was still his usual rage, there was also something else, something she hadn't seen since the party at the Varia mansion.

Because of that, Luna's mind jumped back to that night, and she felt her face heat up slightly, yet not daring to break eye contact with the man. With a quick tug, Luna was sent sprawling into the man's lap, his eyes daring her to challenge him when the whitenette looked like she wanted to retort to his treatment of her. Grumbling to herself, Luna looked elsewhere, too confused and flustered as to what was happening to be able to look at the male any longer.

"Luna."

_Eh?!_ His usage of her name caught her immediate attention, and she looked up at him in surprise. In that time, the hand that was previously holding onto her wrist snaked around her waist to keep her from escaping. His other hand reached for her neck, his finger hooking onto the pendant she constantly wore. _Oh…Lussuria said it was a birthday gift… But he never said who it was from…_ From the look in Xanxus' eyes, however, it seemed Luna had just answered that question.

"I don't care if you've forgotten everything else, but don't you dare forget who you belong to." He growled, a possessive spark flashing within crimson hues.

The intensity of his words made the whitenette shiver, and she stared at him dumbfounded for a few moments before she was able to formulate coherent thoughts. Slowly, a smile spread across her face, and she gave a small laugh to cover up her nervousness. "I don't belong to anyone Xan—mmph!"

Cut off by a pair of lips roughly covering hers, Luna felt like her heart had just exploded in her chest, completely caught off guard by the brunette's actions. To say that her first kiss was sweet and tender would be a lie. It was rough, hot, and tasted of alcohol. Like fire and ice clashing, her lips felt like they were melting from the heat Xanxus' were radiating. Caught in his arms, Luna found she couldn't escape, no… it was more like she didn't want to. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew the feel of these lips. Though they weren't soft or gentle, they were warm and full of smothering passion. They swore, taunted, insulted, and belittled, but they reassured her and motivated her too. Soon, something within her stirred at the realization at how much this man meant to her; both the current and the former her.

A sudden knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts and forced the two to break apart. "Ah…" Luna scrambled off of the Varia boss' lap, aware that she was no longer being held in place. Without meeting his eyes, the whitenette turned away and began to walk towards the door when his voice reached her ears. "Don't you dare forget."

Casting a glance over her shoulder, she bit her lip and was about to say something when her eyes rested on his lips. They were curved upwards into a smirk, and she quickly turned away when she realized her face was turning red. _Jesus…How can he stay so composed…_ She thought with an angry pout. Slipping out of the room, she didn't meet the gaze of the servant who had knocked on the door and quickly walked down the hall once she had murmured a quick 'excuse me' to them.

Even though she was nowhere near him now, Luna's lips still burned from his touch, and she distractedly brushed her fingertips over them as she meandered through the halls with no clear destination, her mind miles away and her heart soaring high above the clouds.

Maybe she was misunderstanding something, maybe she was even being stupid like some love struck high school girl, but right now, Luna was unbelievably, incomparably happy.

* * *

After her little…meeting… with Xanxus, Luna had somehow managed to get back to her own room, pack, and let the rest of the members know she'd be gone for a while. Taking a few books on Vongola Primo with her to read on the flight, Luna was currently boarding the Varia's private jet, both excited and slightly nervous about what was to come.

Excited because she'd get to go to Japan once more, and maybe this time she'd get to experience more of its culture and see more of its geography than she did last time. Nervous because she going unannounced, and was unsure as to how Tsunayoshi would take to her living with him for the duration of her visit. Though… judging by how he treated her during the snow guardian match, maybe he wasn't the problem. If there was anyone she had to worry about, it would be his storm guardian; the silver haired boy.

Yep… Last time, he glared daggers at her, and that was for no reason. If the rumours were true about how attached he was to the tenth, then Luna had no doubt he'd have a fit knowing she was going to live with the brunette. _It might be fun to tease him…_ She thought with a soft laugh.

Feeling a bit less worried, Luna settled into her seat as the jet ascended and began the journey to Japan.

* * *

R&R please~


End file.
